The New Kids
by A.Ash
Summary: The Cullen family starts high school for the first time since Renesmee has been born. Will she learn to love Jacob the way he wants her to? Or will she meet someone at school and repeat the history that brought her Mom and Dad together? *sequel is now up
1. Chapter 1

"Get to sleep Nessy! You have a big day tomorrow." I heard my Dad say from downstairs.

Tomorrow was a big day, it would be my first day of High School. I was 7 years old and a woman for all intents and purposes...physically and mentally. I had been begging my parents to let me go to high school since I had stopped growing a couple of years ago, but they wanted to make sure I was ready. I think the real reason was to make sure my mom was ready. Tomorrow will be her first day of high school as a vampire.

My family had taken great care to find the perfect place for us to go. Far enough from Forks that no one would know us, but close enough for us to visit Grandpa Charlie and the pack on a regular basis. Grandpa Carlisle found a job at a large regional hospital, Grandma Esme was fixing up the historical mansion we had moved into, Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose will be going to a local college, and Mom, Dad, Aunt Alice, Uncle Jasper, Jacob and I will be attending Southside High School.

I'm not nervous, not at all. I'm thrilled to have the chance to _finally_ meet and hang out with people who are not a part of my family. They are all just happy to have each other, and don't feel the need to have anyone else. I guess that's what happens when you are desperately in love, the rest of the world doesn't matter so much.

But I'm not desperately in love. I do have someone who is desperately in love with me, however. Jacob. He is the most nervous about tomorrow. Not only is he worried about acting the part, but my father tells me that his biggest worry is that I'll meet someone and like them more than I like him. That idea sounds okay to me.

Like clockwork, Jake slipped into my bedroom to tell me goodnight.

"How are you feeling, Ness? Are you nervous? You don't have to do this you know, nobody would mind if you wanted to put this off for a few more years."

"Jake, I've told you a million times already. I _want _this...very, very much." I sighed heavily and hoped he'd pick up on my frustration with him, "Why don't you tell me why you're dreading tomorrow so much..."

He wouldn't meet my gaze and his muscles tensed visibly. "I think you know why. I'm sure dear old Dad let you know a few of my thoughts...as always."

I reached up and gently touched my hand to his cheek. I showed him the conversation my parents and I had just a few nights ago...

"Renesmee, I know you want to meet new people and experience new things, but just remember what you have here, sweetie."

"_Mom_, I _know_. I have a loving family and a great best friend...blah blah."

"More than a best friend," Dad added quietly.

"NO. I am not having this conversation with you again. Jacob is my best friend, and I love him. But you can't make me love him that way! He knows that as well as you do. I want to keep him as my best friend forever, without all the complications."

"Edward, just let it go. She'll come around, it's meant to be...so it will be. Just give it time."

"I know. But I hear his thoughts all day and it's driving me crazy, he thinks she'll find someone else at school. As if we'd let that happen...no one could be better for her than him."

I pulled my hand away from his face then, not letting him see how totally ballistic I went. I'd never screamed at my parents like I had that day.

"Well then why don't you just lock a ring on my finger already!?! If this is an arranged marriage and I have no choice, lets just get it over with!! I WILL BE WITH WHO I WANT TO BE WITH, AND IF THAT ISN'T JACOB THEN YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO DEAL!!!"

No, I couldn't show him that. Instead I just said, "See, my father isn't all bad. He stands up for you, you should give him a little credit."

"But did you listen to anything he had to say?" Jacob asked, hopefully.

"Do you really want to start this now? We're both tired and we have a big day tomorrow..."

He sighed and gave me the look that breaks my heart everytime. "No, you're right, Ness. Not tonight. Just promise me that you'll think about what he said. He's more right than he knows when he says that no one will ever love you the way that I do."

"Just promise me one thing, Jake."

"Anything...always, you know that."

"Let me be a teenager. Let me go to school and make friends. Let me love whoever I want, even if you don't think its best. Let me make _my_ mistakes and learn from them. Let me be as human as possible."

He laughed a humorless laugh, "That's more than one thing."

Ugh, was he going to make this as difficult as possible? "Jake, I love you. You know I do, you are my absolute best friend, and I couldn't live without you in my life. But let me be happy, it's what I want."

I knew he couldn't refuse me when I asked this way.

"Sure, Ness. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy." To anyone else, he would have appeared happy and serene at that moment, but I knew better. "Goodnight, my Renesmee." he said softly as he kissed my forehead.

Anyone with less than perfect vampire hearing wouldn't have heard what he said next, but I did, "Just like Bella, all over again."

I pondered that statement, and the many I'd heard like it, over in my head as I drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Bella! You _can not_ go to our first day of school looking like _that_!" I heard Aunt Alice screech from down the hall.

I sat up quickly in bed. Morning was finally here! I'd been looking forward to this day for years. I jumped up and sprinted into my bathroom. I did not want to miss the epic showdown that was sure to take place between my mom and Aunt Alice. Luckily, getting ready for school wasn't hard. After my super fast shower, I shook down my long bronze ringlets, swiped some red lip gloss on my lips, and put on the clothes Aunt Alice had laid out for me the night before.

I didn't know why my mom had such a problem with the clothes Aunt Alice bought for us, she definitely took our personal taste into consideration. My outfit for the day consisted of dark wash jeans that fit like a glove and made my legs look 10 feet long, a light-weight aqua blue cashmere sweater that hugged in all the right places, adorable flats that were stylish but still comfy, and a designer headband to sweep the curls off my face. I topped it off with the jewelry I normally wore, a dainty silver chain necklace with a cursive R dangling from it and an antique pewter bracelet that had belonged to Elizabeth Masen, my Dad's human mother.

I looked myself over in the mirror and was generally satisfied with what I saw. Everyone always told me that I had the best of both my parents in me. My dad's expressions and features, with my mothers human eye and skin color, outrageous blushing ability included.

"Alice, _GET OUT!_ I can dress myself..and undress myself for that matter. Don't ambush me like that! I will wear what I want!"

Oh goody! The feud was still on! I skipped down the hall and stopped outside my parents bedroom door. "Aunt Alice? Is Mom giving you a hard time again? Let me in and maybe I can help."

Aunt Alice opened the door looking like a model who had just sauntered off the catwalk. Her multi-teared mini skirt was silk and a shade of green that looked perfect over the black tights that came down to her calves. With it she wore a tight, casual long sleeved top and sweet little ballet flats. It was a little different than what she normally wore...younger looking. I suppose she wanted to look the part.

"Thank goodness! You can talk some sense into her, I know you can!"

"Mom...Come out of the bathroom, if you don't hurry we'll be late!" I knew that would get her moving, she hated to be late.

Out she came wearing what Aunt Alice would normally wear to clean house in, worse actually. "Oh Mom, even I have to draw the line somewhere...that's horrid!"

"FINE! If you are so worried about how I look, pick something out of my closet and have it in my hand in 30 seconds. And don't call me Mom! We talked about this, you have to be very careful to refer to us by our first names only. We're going to stick out like sore thumbs without you going around calling us 'Mom, Dad, Aunt and Uncle'!"

Some mood she was in, just nervous I guessed. I flew to her closet and pulled out a blue shirt that my dad loved on her, chocolate brown cords, and stylish multi-colored sneakers. I threw it all at her right before she got to 30 and turned to Aunt Alice, "That is as good as its going to get today, just roll with it, alright?"

She pursed her lips, nodded and walked downstairs.

"Mom, I mean..Bella?...I'm headed downstairs, I'll see you in a minute."

"Fine" She grunted as I walked out. The whole family was congregated at the bottom of the stairs waiting expectantly for me and Mom. My Dad looked as excited as I did and gave me a big bear hug when I reached the group. Uncle Jasper looked peeved, he wasn't a fan of high school at all. Jacob looked downright terrified. Finally my mom came down and we were ready to leave. Before I walked out the door, I received kisses and wishes of good luck from those staying behind.

My dad insisted that we ride together as a family, just he, Mom and I. The others took Uncle Jaspers shiny new Land Rover, while I slid into the backseat of Dads Volvo.

"Bella, love, whats the matter? Are you actually _nervous_?" my dad said in a slightly mocking tone.

"No, _Edward_," she replied with a roll of her eyes, "I'm not nervous exactly...just apprehensive I guess. I want everything to go smoothly, but I don't see how we'll ever blend in."

"I don't expect us to blend in, love. We never do. But after a few days of staring, the humans will just write us off as freaks and move on. I've done this dozens of times, so I know. It also helps that we're starting at the beginning of the year, there are bound to be at least a few other new students."

Dads words must have calmed my mothers fears, she visibly relaxed and turned back towards me, "Renesmee, I'm so sorry that I've been distracted all morning. I wanted to be able to help you get ready and spend some time with you. I'm sorry I've made your first day more stressful."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm not stressed, I'm excited!"

"There are a few things we want to discuss with you before we arrive, Nessie," My father started, "We know that you are ready for your independence and to meet new people outside of our little circle, but just remember that you'll have five very sharp pairs of eyes watching out for you."

This sounds like a threat! Was my father threatening me?! My teenager defiance set in and I began to think of all the ways to avoid the 'watching eyes' of my family. Dad laughed from the front seat. Damn his mind reading! He tried to block us out as much as possible for privacy purposes, but wasn't always able. Now that he knew of my mutiny I doubted he would ever try to block me again, I was sure that he would be listening extra closely. He laughed even harder and nodded. I glowered at him from the back seat.

We reached our destination in a little under 10 minutes. I looked out on the school that I'd passed by a couple of times over the summer. It was totally different now that it was crawling with students. It was a large institutional looking building, probably built some time in the 1980's. Lots of concrete, two stories tall, with rows of tall skinny windows. Sometime during the "go green" revolution a few years back some renovations must have been done. The roof now held a large green house, and the few areas of grass were overflowing with plants, ponds and benches where students now gathered.

As we parked next to Uncle Jasper and stepped out of the car into the cloudy morning, I noticed that our cars did not stand out as much as we had feared they would. There were several other new cars in the lot, though none were luxury brands like ours. Few heads turned as we turned toward the main building. Aunt Alice pulled something out of their car before we walked off and threw one toward me and then toward my mom. "Oh, cute Alice! Thanks!" I said when I looked at the tote bag with my first initial embroidered on it. My mom actually looked pleased with hers, too.

"_SO_ much more stylish than backpacks!" Aunt Alice exclaimed.

"Look human, everyone. Kids are starting to look." My father warned.

Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper were walking along arm in arm, talking and laughing quietly to themselves. The perfect picture of high school romance. Jacob and I were chatting to each other while standing a few feet apart, I wanted to make it clear to anyone who looked that we were _not_ together. My mom and dad on the other hand looked much to intensely at one another, and had their hands around the others waist.

"Take your own advice, _Edward_." I whispered in his direction. He just laughed, moved a few inches from my mom and took her hand.

"Much better."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hum" Dad grumbled with an unhappy look on his face. We hadn't even made it though the parking lot yet and he was already brooding about something!

"I feel it." Uncle Jasper said with a sour tone in his voice.

"And I can see it!" Alice exclaimed, sounding quite giddy.

Dad immediately started to laugh. An Alice vision, of course.

"What's this all about Edward?" Mom asked.

"Oh, well...apparently we all look like quite serious couples...except Jacob and Nessie," he shot a slight pitying look in Jacobs direction that made me want to scream, "and a few of the boys standing over near that green truck were being a bit too admiring for my taste."

"I can feel the lust being directed toward her," Jasper nodded at me, "UGH, I don't know how well I'll be able to handle this. It was always fine with Rose and Alice, even though it irritated me. They are big girls, able to take care of themselves. The same with you, Bella. But I don't know if I can hold it together when the thoughts are directed at my 7 year old niece!"

I could see my mother starting to rage at the words Jasper was speaking, for a split second I thought she was about to turn and charge at those boys. Alice stopped and put her arm on Mom's shoulder. Jacob was still seething next to me. Thankfully, Jasper sent a wave of calm toward him.

"Bella, trust me when I say that it will all be fine. She's going to drive the boys here crazy, I can see that clearly...so you might all want to get used to hearing the thoughts and feeling the feelings. I don't think we'll have a problem with any of them though!" Aunt Alice's airy laugh filled the air.

I was oddly flattered that I was catching the attention of the guys we passed, but confused by the conversation between my family. Oh well, Aunt Alice wasn't likely to tell me anything unless I really needed to know.

By now we were waiting in line to receive our schedules for the semester. I was so excited I was bouncing in place. As I looked over my schedule, I was pleased to see that I'd gotten into all of the classes I'd wanted. My excitement vanished completely when I compared my classes to those the rest of my family were in. Aunt Alice, Mom and I were posing as Freshmen. Dad, Jasper and Jacob as Sophomores. I knew that I wouldn't have any classes with the guys, and I'd only expected to have 1 or 2 with Aunt Alice or Mom, the school was big enough that we might not have any together! How wrong I was.

"You did this on _PURPOSE_!" I shrieked at my mother. Her sly smile told me that I was right. "I can't believe this! So much for independence...I think I just want to go home."

"Oh quit being so dramatic, Nessie!" Jacob said. "I didn't try and pull anything and we still ended up in Gym together!"

"That's ONE class, Jacob! Alice and M.._Bella_ are in every class of mine but two...and you're in one that they aren't!" I wailed. I really felt like I was going to cry. I had only one class all day with none of my family. ONE.

Just then the first bell rang and students began to scatter to their first class of the year.

"Come on, Nessie!" Alice trilled, "The three us us have Beginners Spanish together first period!"

"Great," I said without enthusiasm.

Spanish was a good class to have first period. We were all fluent, so it would be easy to just zone out that early in the morning. Of course the first day we had to get though all the introductions.

"My name is Mrs. Kerns and I'll be your Spanish teacher for the semester!" The plump, friendly looking woman said, "I'd like everyone to go around and introduce yourself. Give your name, age, a hobby or interest, and if you know any Spanish at all please let us know."

We were seated at the far end of the room, by the windows, so we would be the last to go. Everyone sat quietly and listened as the class went round robin. There was no one of particular interest in the class, but I could tell all the other students thought otherwise. There was an almost audible intake of breath when Alice, who was seated in front of me, stood up.

"My name is Alice Cullen, I'm 14, fashion is my passion, and I am fluent in Spanish."

I almost laughed out loud. The whole class, teacher included, were totally silent and in complete awe. The silence was so long that Alice turned and nudged me, thinking they were waiting for me to begin. I wanted to tell her that it was just her 'dazzling' them, as Mom so often put it.

I stood and turned to the class. "Hello," I said brightly, "I'm Renesmee Cullen, but I prefer to go by Nessie," I saw my mother grimace slightly as I told everyone to call me by the nickname she had never quite warmed up to, "I'm 14 years old, I love reading, playing piano, and running, and I am also fluent in Spanish." I looked around...no one had moved an inch. Alice giggled, probably at my reference to 'running' as an interest. It _was_ true, though our idea of running was probably quite different from the jog down the road that the rest of the class was likely to be thinking of.

Responding to the silence, my mom stood and gave her introduction. "Um..My name is Bella Cu..Hale, Bella Hale, I'm 15 years old, I love to read and play with my dogs," Alice nearly lost it, "and I am also fluent in Spanish." She sat back down gracefully. You could practically hear the crickets chirping the background....

After a few more awkward moments of silence, Mrs. Kerns finally regained her composure. "Wait..you are all fluent in Spanish? What are you doing in my class?"

"Well," Alice explained, "4 years of language is required to graduate, so we didn't really have much choice."

The teacher recovered more quickly this time, "Well, Miss Cullen, there are 4 other languages offered at this school. Perhaps you all need to change your schedules."

I was surprised when my mom spoke up next.

"We're fluent in all of them." She said quietly.

Mrs. Kerns was quickly getting agitated with us. I almost wished my Dad was near to hear her thoughts. "All of them... French, Italian, German _and_ Latin?!"

"Our family has a knack with languages and we've traveled a lot." I added brightly with a hint of the persuasive tone I'd heard my Dad use a million times.

"Oh, well...Okay...Just don't be disruptive to the rest of the students learning. Maybe I can use you all as tutors." I thought she was about to get on with the agenda for the rest of the semester when she tacked onto the end, "You are all related?"

Alice explained, "Yes, Nessie and I are cousins. Our uncle adopted us, and Bella is our foster sister." More stunned silence.

"Oh MY, am I ever glad to be out of that class!" Alice laughed as we walked down the hall after the hour had ended.

"If you two didn't somehow get us all in there together we would have been much less conspicuous." I added.

Next up for me was Earth Science. Joy, periodic tables. Only Alice was in that class with me, Mom had somehow finagled her way into Biology with Dad, even though they weren't in the same grade...something nostalgic apparently.

Science passed without incident, just more staring and gaping. More at Alice, than at me I assumed. Civics passed much the same way, only with people ogling my mother instead of Alice. After that Math came, a sweet looking girl with jet black hair and bright blue eyes introduced herself, making for a nice change. It must have been hard for her to approach the three of us together. That was the only thing that made that class eventful.

In the hall we stopped at our lockers to put our bags away for lunch. We had been the topic of several conversations in between classes, we'd even picked up some gossip about the guys. Apparently, a girl named Meg was just _positive_ that the one named Edward had been staring at her in the hall earlier, even though he was with his girlfriend. Her friends sounded downright giddy at the prospect. Then we heard something that made us pause...and then fume.

"_I_ heard from Janey that they are trouble makers, that's why they moved here. They've been kicked out of every school they've been in. I think it's mostly that big Indian boy, the others seem so smart...he's just a big oaf. Laura said that he was practically having a seizure when Aaron laughed at him for missing an easy question in History. He doesn't fit in with the others at all...they are all so beautiful. He's not bad to look at if you like that hulking sort of thing, but I definitely prefer the other two."

I turned to see who was talking. It was none other than Meg, the same girl who had a thing for my father. She continued, "Macy told me that Josh told her that the curly headed girl was _with_ him...like _really_ with him. He saw them walking in the hall together and the incredible hulk was glaring at anyone who so much as glanced at her. I don't believe it though. That girl could have any guy in this school, I'm sure she just has to be nice to him since they're like, brother and sister or whatever." She said this as if she wished we really were together, to eliminate competition I guessed.

I would have been angry, very angry, if I had just heard this in passing. But what made me want to growl, hiss and _bite_ at this stupid girl named Meg was the fact that not even 10 feet away from where her gossip had taken place, Jake stood slumped over against his locker with his trembling hands covering his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

I flew down the Hall toward Jacob, I was sure that I was moving faster than I should be, but I didn't care. How could those girls be so careless and cruel? In less than a second I was standing with my arms wrapped around Jake.

My father walked by and said under his breath at vampire speed, "You have got to be more careful, Nessie. No one saw you...this time. Take care of Jacob. We'll see you at lunch."

The lunch bell rang and the students around us started moving toward the cafeteria. We stood rooted to the spot, waiting until the hall had cleared before either of us spoke.

"Jake, I'm so sorry," I sobbed, "Lets go, lets just get out of here. Those girls are awful, and you shouldn't listen to a word they say. You don't believe them do you? You can't! We don't have to come back. This was a really bad idea."

He hugged me tightly and laughed. He laughed? I pulled away and stared at him.

"Ness, I'm fine. I wasn't listening to those girls at all. I heard them, but who cares what they think?"

"Then why did you look like you were freaking out and about to phase?"

"You all were listening so closely to the babbling bimbos over there that you didn't hear the conversation going on a little further down the hall," he said, with a scowl returning to his face. "A group of guys saying things about you that I'd rather not repeat."

"About _me_?"

"You shouldn't sound so pleased about that, Renesmee."

Hum, did I sound pleased? I hadn't meant to, but I guess I kind of was. Though the way he said my full name made me think that I really shouldn't be.

"Well, are you ready to go to lunch then?" I asked.

"Lunch? I thought you were ready to blow this joint. Didn't you say something about this being a bad idea and never coming back?"

"Oh, well...I was just trying to.."

He cut me off with his barking laugh, "I know that you were trying to make me feel better, thanks for that. But I also know you're having fun, and even if I was miserable I wouldn't want to leave. I can take any gossip they throw at me, I just worry about you."

"Thanks, Jake. I'm glad you're here...even if it doesn't always seem that way."

He smiled, grabbed my hand and started pulling toward the cafeteria.

Lunch was by far the most fun I'd had all day, mostly because of my parents. Mom was really acting like a high schooler, constantly asking Dad what people were thinking.

"Oh! That blond girl is staring at Jasper! What's she thinking now?!" She asked bouncing in her chair.

"She thinks he looks like some actor in a play she saw a few weeks ago." Dad said innocently.

Alice laughed, "Edward, we're not dumb."

"Fine," He rolled his eyes, "she's trying to decide who is the hottest and who is the most available."

Alice scooted closer to Jasper and kissed him passionately for a few seconds.

"Well, Jake..You're the lucky winner. Expect a phone number stuck in your locker by the end of the day."

I almost died laughing at the expression of horror on Jakes face. Then I heard my name being said a few tables away.

A tall chubby boy with reddish blond hair was glancing between me and another boy who looked like your stereotypical popular jock.

"Nessie...or something weird like that. At least that's what Kyle told me, he's in her science class. She is something to look at isn't she? No wonder all the girls already hate her."

"Josh, dude, shut up...she's looking at you." The chubby boy said.

"I don't care, its not like she can hear me from all the way over there. Its too bad the other two have boyfriends, dating sisters at the same time is always so fun, especially when they are all so hot! The Nessie one looks feisty enough, though."

Another boy chimed in, "They sure don't look like freshmen, and the guys don't look like sophomores either. They look old enough to be seniors at least...except maybe the little dark haired girl. She looks around 15, I guess."

Thankfully, the bell rang before the rest of my family could notice that I wasn't paying any attention to them. Jacob heard, of course. Anyone who said my name would catch his attention. He gave me the "I told you so" look and started walking toward the gym.

"I hope you all brought your gym clothes!" The boisterous coach yelled from the bottom of the bleachers.

The sounds of irritated students echoed off the walls. "It's only the first day!", "There is no way he is going to make us dress out.", "If enough of us didn't bring our clothes, maybe he'll just let us sit here."

I breathed a sign of relief that Alice had the foresight (ha!) to know that we'd need our clothes. Those who had forgotten theirs, or thought that they wouldn't need them, had to dig through a box of school issued workout wear to put on for the hour. While I was changing in the locker room, I listened to the gossip of a small group of popular girls a few lockers down.

"I can't believe Josh is in this class! How lucky are we? Only, I wish he didn't have to see me in these school workout clothes, I'd look better in a potato sack!"

"Ugh, I know. Who has ever had to dress out on the first day of gym?!"

Another conventionally pretty girl joined their group, wearing the same ratty school issued clothes. Annie. I remember her name from my Spanish class.

"O-M-G, girls! Did you see who was in this class!? Thank heavens gym is all classes and not just freshmen! Josh _and_ the two new boys...wow."

The _two_ new boys? My dad and uncle weren't in this class. One of the boys she was referring to must have been Jacob, but there was another new boy? Hmm.

After I had on my cute black yoga pants, tight red support tank top, and tennis shoes I headed out onto the track like we were instructed to do. All the boys were already stretching and warming up, but I was the first girl out. Before I could make my way over to Jacob, the boy called Josh and two of his flacks walked up to me.

"Hey" He said, giving me an appreciative look.

"Um, Hi." I replied, glancing over at Jacob. He was watching out of the corner of his eye, but not interfering, just like I had asked on the day we decided to go to high school. I knew that he would be unbearably protective, so I made him promise to let me be as independent as possible. If I needed his help, I would ask for it.

"I'm Josh, this Drew," he gestured to a short, stocky boy with blond hair, "and this is Aaron." he nodded toward the boy on his other side, who was tall, lanky and had the air of a class clown. I probably would have liked him, if I didn't suspect that this was the same Aaron who had laughed at Jake in their history class.

It was obvious that Josh thought that he was the be all, end all of the boys at Southside High School. He _was_ attractive, but in the same conventional way as the girls in the locker room. He was tall, maybe around 6'2, with broad shoulders and developed muscles. His hair was sandy brown and slightly shaggy.

"I'm Nessie," I said after the half a second it took me to take in his appearance.

"You have a brother who's a sophomore, right? I have math with him. He's the only sophomore in there, it's usually a Junior level class."

So he was a junior. "Yeah, it must have been Edward, he's good with math."

"How many siblings do you have here and how are you all so close in age?" Aaron, who seemed genuinely interested, asked with a glance at Jacob.

"It's kind of complicated," I started, "Edward is my older brother, he's 15. I'm only 14. Alice, the short, dark haired girl is my cousin and she's 14 also. We were adopted by our uncle several years ago. Bella and Jasper Hale are 15 and 16, they are our foster siblings, and so is Jacob," I pointed him out, "he's a sophomore and just turned 16."

"Oh, so you're not all _really_ related." Drew said.

Josh answered before I could, "Of course they aren't you idiot. Didn't you see at lunch? Her brother and cousin are _with_ the other ones!"

Wow, he was rude.

"So you aren't with _him_ are you?" Josh gestured at Jacob.

Rude and pushy. "No, I'm not. Jacob is my best friend." I told him quietly.

"Good, then he won't mind if you run with us today."

Rude, pushy and presumptuous. "I actually think I'll stick with him for now, we run together at home, thanks for the offer though." I turned to walk to where Jacob stood, still stretching.

By now, all the other girls were out on the track, trying their best to get the attention of the boys by stretching seductively. I heard Annie say, "He just asked her to run with him...and she said _no_?! She must be crazy and obviously stuck up."

Before I could get to Jacob, Josh was back in front of me again. "Come on. I just want to work out with you, build up a good sweat." He sneered, obviously pleased at his double innuendo.

"She said she'd rather _not_." Jacob was suddenly looming above Josh. His face in a mask of pure hatred. "Come on Ness, lets go get started."

Josh must not have been used to being confronted or stood up to, because next he did the dumbest thing he could have done.

"SO, _Jacob_ is it? Are you her keeper? Because I don't think I was talking to _you_."

The whole class was watching us now. Great.

"No, I am not her keeper. But I did hear her say no. Hasn't anyone ever told you? No means _NO_." He growled in a voice so menacing that even I was scared.

"I didn't hear her say 'no', specifically," he shot back. Did this guy have a death wish? Jake wasn't going to keep his cool much longer.

A voice I'd never heard before said calmly, "Guys, come on...the coach will be out any second. Do you both want to be suspended on the first day? Just let it go."

"Yeah, Jake...come on. Lets go run." Then I turned to the boy I'd never seen before. "Thank you." I whispered as Jake and I walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time gym was over, I couldn't wait for the day to end. The two classes that I was looking forward to most were my last two of the day, but I would have gladly skipped them.

"There must be something between her and that Jacob kid, he butted into that situation pretty fast..."

"Saying _no_ to Josh Harper? Maybe that family isn't as smart as people are saying..."

"I bet Josh could have taken him..."

"Why in the world did that guy stop them? I wanted to see a fight! He's new too, I think his name is Owen...he's almost as cute as the Cullen boys!"

I grabbed my bag and rushed out of the locker room. I couldn't stand to hear anymore. Jacob was leaning against the wall, waiting for me, when I walked out.

"Well, that was interesting!" he laughed.

"I don't think it's funny at all, Jake. You almost fought. It's our first day and you are already fighting guys on my behalf." I was fuming.

"You needed my help and you know it. That guy wouldn't leave you alone! I'll stand by and let you talk, and whatever else you want to do, to anyone as long as you are safe. The second I feel like you aren't...I'm there," he said so gently that it made me feel bad for being angry.

I sighed, "I know that Jake, but I wasn't in any danger. A human boy was being obnoxious in front of the whole class. I hardly think he was going to drag me off into the woods...as if he'd be able to anyway."

Now he looked embarrassed, "I just didn't like the way he was looking at you. But I made you a promise and I'll keep it. From now on, only if there is _real_ danger. I promise."

Alice skipped up and gave Jacob a big hug, "Oh Jake! You're such a good guy! Thanks for watching out for our Nessie! I saw this morning that you would!"

Alice saw...Jacob? No that couldn't be right. She couldn't have seen what happened in gym. She noticed my confused expression and explained, "Josh was standing by that truck this morning, he decided then that he was going to ask you out. When Jacob found out from Edward that he was thinking about you, he must have decided right then to stop him. I didn't see what happened, I only saw the whole school talking about it."

"UGH! I can't wait for 7th period. No one but me...maybe I can attempt a slightly normal existence for one hour a day. " I moaned.

"Well, it's 6th period now silly and we have choir! Lets go!" Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

Choir was my only elective, and I was so glad I'd chosen it. Nearly everything musical came naturally to me, so I knew I'd have fun. Alice and I were both placed in the first soprano section after the whole class had to sing individually for the teacher. We were the first to sing, and I heard several panicked voices say that there was no way they were singing by themselves after us. The section placement only took up the first part of class, so we were left to sit and chat for 25 minutes. Mr. Barnes, our teacher, retreated to his desk to make a phone call. Of course, Alice and I couldn't help but overhear..

"Carl, you've got to hear these girls....Cousins....I've never heard anything like it, perfect pitch and tone.....both freshmen!.....Um hum.....yes.....I might stick them with the seniors for competition season, we'd kill Northside!"

Alice and I dissolved into giggles. Mr. Barnes was cool, and I wouldn't mind a few after school practices if it meant we would "kill" our rival school at competition in the spring.

I was having so much fun sitting on the risers talking with Alice that the period flew by. 7th period was here. _Finally_. My last class of the day was English/Lit, and I was so excited. The only thing that I loved more than music was reading. It was easy to tune out the gossip about my family as I walked up the stairs alone to class. I wondered what we'd read first, _Romeo and Juliet_, perhaps? Or maybe _Grapes of Wrath_..or _Our Town_...or _1984_?

I entered the classroom and made my way to the seat by the window, first checking to make sure that if the sun ever came out it wouldn't hit me where I sat. I didn't full on glitter like the rest of my family, but I had enough of a sparkle to draw attention. I didn't notice until I sat down that the boy in the seat in front of me was the same one who stopped Jake and Josh in gym.

"Oh hi!" I said happily, trying to get his attention, "I didn't get a chance to talk to you again after gym. Thank you so much for what you did. That could have ended very badly!"

"No problem," he laughed. He had a nice laugh. Not bell like, like my father and uncles, but raspy and natural. I looked at him more closely than I'd been able to in gym. He was _really_ tall, only a few inches shorter than Jake, probably around 6'4 I guessed. His hair was shiny, dark brown and curly...almost as curly as mine. I couldn't tell if his eyes were green or hazel, every time they moved they were a different color. He definitely didn't look like a freshman. All the other boys in our class had barely reached puberty, they were short, scrawny and had bad skin. In other words, they _looked_ like 14 year old boys. He didn't look like a boy at all.

He interrupted my staring, "I'm Owen, by the way...Nessie, right? One of the guys in gym told me." His voice was nearly as raspy as his laugh, why didn't I notice that in gym? He continued, "So what did that Josh guy do to get your boyfriend so riled up?"

_BOYFRIEND_?! Great, I knew this would happen.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend." I spat out, more rudely than I'd meant to.

"Oh..uh...sorry. I just assumed. I think most of the school assumed...except Josh, obviously."

I rolled my eyes, "It's okay. I'm sure it looked like he was. He's my best friend and he lives with my family, so we're close." Prompted by his confused look I explained our family situation...the public version anyway.

"Ohhh, like brother and sister? Okay." He sounded relieved.

"Haha...sort of. Not exactly, but sort of." If only he knew about the weird wolfy connection that tied Jacob tighter to me than any sibling bond. The teacher called the class to order and started handing around the reading list for the year. The interest I'd had in the books we'd be reading had evaporated. Now all I could think of was the boy in front of me.

A million question flashed through my head as the teacher babbled on about _A Separate Peace_, our first book of the year. How old was he? Where had he moved from? Was he smart? Funny? Athletic? Did he have a thing for half human half vampire girls? What the teacher said next snapped me out of my reverie.

"I'm sure you all have been doing this all day, and I know most of you know each other, but you are all new to me. I'd like to go around the room and have each of you introduce yourself. Tell me your name, age, favorite book, any other hobby you may have, and where you went to middle school."

I _had_ done this 5 times today already, but I could have kissed her for making us do it again. I would be able to find out everything I wanted to know about Owen...minus his preference in girls..

The first person stood up to go. UGH. I'd been so absorbed in my own little world that I hadn't noticed who else was in the class. Seated all together a few rows away was Meg, the girl who had talked so horribly about Jacob, and two other girls who had been gossiping endlessly about my family all day. Just great.

Meg started in a prim and snooty tone, "My name is Megan Pruitt, but I go by Meg. I'm 14, my favorite book is _He's Just not that Into You_, I love to shop and play volleyball, and I went to Jefferson Middle School."

Typical, I thought. I listened with fake interest to the others in the class give their introductions. I watched Owen out of the corner of my eye, he looked as uninterested as I did. _Finally_, it was his turn.

"Um, I'm Owen Ross, I'm 16 almost 17, my favorite book is _Candide_ by Voltaire, and I enjoy biking and hiking. I haven't been in school for the past two years, my parents pulled me out of my middle school in Colorado to travel around Europe. They home schooled me on the road, but the school wouldn't let me start at my Junior year, where I should be."

Wow. Well read, outdoorsy, a world traveler, was I dreaming? I stood up to take my turn and noticed that every girl in class must be thinking the same thing. All the boys were staring intently at me.

"I'm Renesmee Cullen, but I prefer Nessie. I'm 14, my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice if I can only pick just one, I love playing the piano, reading and running. I went to middle school in Phoenix, Arizona."

Silence. Why did that always happen? I sat back down with 26 pairs of eyes locked on me. More silence. After what felt like an hour I started to hear subdued whispers coming from (where else?) Meg and her little clique.

"Do you see her headband? I looks like Burberry, but I bet its a knockoff."

One of her friends, Cara, whispered back,"I dunno, Meg. Her shoes are definitely Ferragamo. I saw them at Nordstrom when I went to the city with my mom a few weeks ago. I tried some just like that on for fun, and they were over $400! Her dad, or whatever he is, _is_ a doctor."

I tried to keep from laughing. Meg and her posse seemed like the kind of girls who loved their material possessions greatly. Not that I didn't love the things Aunt Alice bought, but they didn't define me the way these girls let their $70 Gap jeans define them.

The bell rang loudly, stopping my eavesdropping. I gathered my things and started for the door. Owen stood and began to walk with me. I blushed furiously. Attention didn't make me blush, as it had for my mother (or so I was told), but attention from this boy seemed to affect me.

"So, Renesmee, huh? Interesting name. I'm sure there is a story behind it."

"Not a story, really. It's both of my grandmothers names, put together. Renee and Esme."

"Hum," he said, "creative. I'm named after a town in Germany where my parents met." He rolled his eyes.

How romantic, I thought. "You're German then?" That would explain all the time in Europe.

"No, my parents are kind of hippies...they were backpacking through Europe after they graduated college. They're both pretty flighty, we'd still be traipsing through Europe if I hadn't demanded we come back to the states so that I could finish school."

He was obviously frustrated by his parents. I could relate. We were walking out of the front doors of the school now and I saw that all my family was already gathered by the cars, waiting for me. "I guess I'd better go," I sighed.

"Um, I'll see you tomorrow Nessie. Keep that brother of yours on a leash in gym class! I don't want to break up anymore fights!" Owen laughed and walked away.

The look on Jacobs face was priceless, and everyone around him was bent over laughing. Hum, maybe a leash wasn't such a bad idea.


	6. Chapter 6

"Let's go hunt, Ness. Emmett and Blondie are going to be home soon and I'd rather not be around when they get here."

Were Jake and Aunt Rose ever going to get along? I doubted it. I walked out the back door with Jake and into the woods. I loved Grandma Esme for being able to find a house that backed right up to a state park. She had a knack for that. I paused and turned to look at the stately old mansion, giving Jake some privacy so he could phase.

The house was 2 stories and built with large gray stones. The doorways and windows were all over sized and arched, with huge, heavy, dark wood doors and thick tinted window panes. Though only two stories tall, our house in Forks would have fit inside it at least 3 times over. The grounds were large with an intricate, black, wrought iron fence surrounding it. It had fallen into disrepair over the years, but my grandmother had worked tirelessly on it over the summer. The gardens were now trimmed and full of late summer blooms, the grounds immaculately kept. The old place now radiated happiness from the inside out.

Something softly nudged my back. "You ready?" I asked. The huge wolf nodded and started running full speed into the woods. I followed until I picked up the scent of something appealing a few miles out. Jake continued on to find his own prey.

After we had our fill, we met up and ran back toward the house. About a mile out, Jake stopped and whirled around to face me.

"Geeze, Jake...you gotta give me some warning!" I grumbled after I slammed into his hulking form, pulling bits of fur off my clothes. He laughed his barking laugh and pushed my shoulder, telling me to turn around so he could phase. I turned and waited until he grabbed my hand and pulled me around to face him.

"Ness, I have to talk to you while we're away from the house."

This wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation, I could already tell. I just stood there and waited for him to start.

"Renesmee, we've beat around the bush for years now, and I'm tired of it. I love you, you know that. You also know that I'm meant for you...that we're meant for each other. I'm sure you love me too. Why are you making this so hard? It's killing me."

This is exactly what I'd been afraid of. I knew that everything he said was true, but I had my reasons. "I know all of that," I began, "but I don't really know how to tell you why I want what I do."

"Try. I want to know why you think something so right and so perfect shouldn't happen, why you think that the magic, history, and legends aren't a good enough reason to believe that this is right. I _was_ made for you, Nessie. Why don't you care about that?"

He deserved the honest answer, so I decided to give it to him. "That's just it, Jake! Magic and legends..that's my whole life. Nothing is ever _normal_ or _simple_. It's like my entire life was planned out from the moment I was born. I have to take control of what I can. I don't know what I'll want a year from now, or 10 years, or 100 years for that matter. We have all that time! Why do I need to rush into _anything_ when I have eternity? I want to live first, as normal as possible."

He stared at me with sad eyes for a moment. "I guess I understand that," he sighed and then continued under his breath, "so like your mother, but still so different."

"Okay, enough! Now it's your turn to explain. Why do you keep muttering about Mom?"

"I guess I own you an explanation for that," he looked like he really didn't want to continue, "you know she and I were close before you were born. I loved her, not like I love you of course, but I thought she was the one for me. She chose your dad, obviously. It tore me up for a long time. I couldn't understand why Bella kept running towards something that would take her humanity."

I wasn't really shocked. I had always suspected that something had gone on with them before I was born.

He continued, "That's why you two are so similar, but still so different...she ran toward immortality with a vengeance, and couldn't wait to start her 'forever'. You want nothing more than to be normal and to take your time with everything."

I'd never thought of it that way. "So how are we similar?"

"You are both stubborn," he said, but then added very quietly, "and you are both very good at breaking my heart."

How could I be doing this to him? How could I cause my best friend so much pain? It was too much, I started sobbing. There had to be a way to make this better. I knew how, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just didn't feel right. I couldn't love him that way.

"Jake, please forgive me!" I cried into his shirt.

"There's nothing to forgive, sweetie. The good part about this whole imprint thing is that as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Yes, there is part of my heart that aches for you that way, but as long as I _know_ you're happy, I'll be just fine. So that's all I can ask of you, make yourself happy."

I smiled through my tears. I was lucky to have such a wonderful friend. "I promise, Jake." He grabbed my hand and we started the walk back to the house.

"Nessie has a boyfriend! Nessie has a boyfriend! Nessie has a boyfriend"

Lovely. Someone must have filled Uncle Emmett in on my day. I looked at Jake before we walked in the door to face my certain humiliation. "You okay?" I asked.

"If you are, I am," he grinned, "I'm actually kind of eager to see what your family has to say about all this."

He pulled me through the door as I groaned loudly. Uncle Emmett started making smooching noises while Aunt Rose snickered from the couch.

"I didn't tell them a thing, baby!" Dad said from his piano bench. He pointed to where I should turn my murderous glare.

"MOM! How could you?" I shrieked at her.

"Don't be so upset, I only told them that you seemed to make a new friend. They guessed the rest rather quickly."

"Only a kid of Edwards would fall for a human on their first day of school!" Emmett roared with laughter.

Dad was giving me a strange look. His eyes were slightly squinted and his head was cocked to the side....he was zeroing in on my thoughts. Unfortunately right as Uncle Emmett had said the words 'fall for a human' my mind flashed with images of Owen. Before I could worry too much about what he was thinking, Aunt Alice danced lightly into the room and sank down onto the thick rug.

"You know, it really is a shame that I can't see Nessie very well. I have a feeling that this is all going to be quite interesting."

"I'm glad you can't," I stated, "I know you try not to affect the future with your visions, but you always seem to. I want my life to play out with out knowing what will happen."

She huffed and gave me a look of pure annoyance. Carlisle and Esme came to sit down on either side of me. They were so comforting. Even though they both looked about 25, they definitely had the spirit of grandparents.

"I'm glad you had a good day, honey." Grandma Esme purred, "Don't let them keep you from being friends with anyone." She lovingly ran her fingers through my hair and it calmed me instantly.

"Good day?" Jacob snorted. "I thought her day was just _awful_." He put his hand across his brow like he was about to faint.

"Cut out the dramatics, Jacob. You're irritating the hell out of her." Uncle Jasper snapped at him as he sent a calming wave toward me. I sighed contentedly.

"What happened?" Grandpa Carlisle asked with mild concern. My irritation flared up again.

"Jake almost fought a boy in gym class. It got broken up before it started, but still. It's only going to cause problems for us." I explained to him.

"You know I don't approve of fighting," he said to Jacob in a very stern tone.

"Let me guess! A guy came on to Nessie and you tried to beat him to a pulp, Romeo broke it up and now Ness is a smitten kitten." No one said a word. "So I'm _right_?!" Emmett exclaimed with glee. "I knew it!" he yelled when no one responded again.

My dad sighed heavily, "Renesmee, you know having secrets in this family is impossible. I know from first hand experience. Please just get it all out in the open. It will be much easier for everyone, you included."

"_DAD_!" I was horrified, "I can't talk to you all about this."

"I already know everything, and you know I'll tell your mother. I can promise not to tell anyone else...but I can't promise that they won't bug you to death trying to get information." He looked directly at Uncle Emmett, a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"So I like a guy? So what? I _swear_ this is torture. I can't even _like_ someone without a full on interrogation! We've only had _one_ conversation, _ONE_, and you people act like I'm going to marry him!" I could see Aunt Alice bouncing up and down out of the corner of my eye, "Before you ask Aunt Alice, his name is Owen, he's 16, and I don't know if he likes me too!"

Dad and Uncle Jasper laughed out loud.

"WHAT!?!" I yelled at them.

Dad nodded at Jasper, letting him know that it was okay to explain, "Every guy in that school who's seen you, likes you. Like I told you this morning in the parking lot, it's going to be a challenge to for me to tolerate it everyday."

"Even Owen?" I asked hopefully before I could think about what I was saying.

"Even Owen," my dad said quietly.

I blushed harder than I ever had. Everyone stared at me, except Jacob. His face was half smiling/half wincing at the floor. He loved my blush, just not the reason for it, I guessed. After a moment everyone went on about their business and I sat daydreaming about English class.

Later that night, everyone had gone their separate ways. Dad, Jasper, Emmett, Rose and Carlisle were hunting. Alice was upstairs going through my mothers closet. Jake was phased so he could talk to Leah and Seth about an upcoming visit to Forks. My mother and grandmother were walking through the gardens, like they often did in the evenings. I stopped by the back door that stood open, letting the warm evening breeze blow through the house. A snippet of conversation caught my attention.

"I know Edward promised not to say anything, Esme, but I didn't. I know you won't mention it to her and I really need to talk about it."

I sat down on the tile surrounding the door and listened harder.

"You can talk to me about anything, Bella. I know you're worried about her, and I share some of your concerns, I'm sure."

My mother let everything pour out in a rush, "The boy, Owen, he does like her. A great deal more than the other simple boys at school. And he likes her for the right reasons, that's what scares me. The boys who are just lusting after her, she'd never go for that and Edward would never allow it. But this boy, he seems to really _get_ her. After only one conversation! She feels the same way, Edward says. She's so young, and I thought this experience would make her see that human boys are wrong for her and that Jake is the right choice, but it seems to be backfiring."

Who did my mother think she was?! She, who had fallen in love with a _vampire_ was distraught about my choices? What a hypocrite. I was so busy fuming that I almost missed Grandma Esme's question.

"How is Jacob holding up?"

"Edward says he's doing okay. He really does just want her to be happy, even if it goes against what he wants. But he's been through so much Esme, I hurt him horribly. I don't know if I can watch him go through that again. Edward said he'd tell me if it gets too bad."

"Have you ever wondered if Jake is really right for her, Bella? I know that imprinting is a strong thing and that it means _she_ is right for _him_, but what if he's not right for her?"

Hum, I thought, interesting theory. I'd wondered the same many times, but Jake had always assured me that it's not the case. He would _become_ whatever was right for me. But what if he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to?

It was getting late and I was tired from my long day. I dragged myself upstairs and into my bedroom. I could think better here, this room relaxed me. It was sage green, with brown accents, and streamlined dark wood furniture. Aunt Alice had bought a wonderful fountain that hung on the wall over my bed to remind me of the river that ran by our home in Forks. I curled up under my covers to wait for Jake to come and tell me goodnight. He didn't. I fell asleep to the sound of the fountain wondering how things had changed so much in one day.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day at school was far less eventful than the first. After word of the 'altercation' in gym spread around, girls looked at me with jealousy and boys tried not to look at me at all. We were still the topic of gossip, but I knew I'd just have to get used to that. The first part of the day was boring and long, so I zoned out in class thinking about a certain someone. The sweet girl in my math class talked to us again, her name was Wren, and she was new too. I could tell that Alice and my mom liked her as much as I did. I made a mental note to get to know her better.

"Renessme, I don't want you talking to Josh again. At all. Even if it's just to tell him he's a jerk." my dad said with fury as we walked to lunch.

"Um, I wasn't planning on it, Dad." I said with annoyance. Jacob jabbed me in the ribs and raised his eyebrows. What was that for? I already knew what he thought of Josh, I didn't need an 'I told you so'. Then I got it.

"Ohh. Sorry _Edward!_ I don't know where my head is today." I corrected quickly. "Why did you feel the need to tell me that?"

"His thoughts in 3ed period were disgusting. I know he's going to try and make another move when Jacob isn't around."

"I'll be around." Jacob assured my dad with a determined gleam in his eyes.

I stuck my hand on Jake's face to show him a memory, knowing Dad would see it too. It was he and I wrestling in the backyard of our house in Forks. I had Jacob pinned to the ground and he was struggling to get up, he wasn't quite as strong in his human form. I kept pushing him back down, laughing, as he tried with all of his might to move me. I pulled my hand away.

"That was a fun day," Jake sighed.

"Now do you two really think that I'm incapable of taking care of myself? Josh is _human_, for goodness sake!"

My dad looked at me softly, "You're right Nessie, we worry too much. You are more than capable. I trust your judgment."

"Thank you," I told him as we slid into the line for lunch. I was hungry, so I piled my plate with hard boiled eggs off of the salad bar. Eggs and very _very_ rare steak were about the only human food I really enjoyed.

"That's not a very diverse salad." a raspy voice said from behind me. I spun around so fast I almost dropped my tray.

"Oh! Hey Owen! You surprised me. Um, yeah...I like boiled eggs."

"Obviously," he grinned.

I couldn't help but grin back. He stared at me without blinking for a minute and looked like he was at a loss for words. What had I done?

"So, I better go pay for this." I said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, Yeah..okay. Pay. Right," he stuttered. He seemed to regain his confidence after a moment and asked, "I actually came to ask if you wanted to sit with me," he paused and looked at the floor, "because, wow this is embarrassing, I don't really know anyone here but you and I didn't want to be the pathetic new guy sitting alone."

I was positively beaming. He looked up at me and a smile started at the corner of his lips. I answered quickly, "Of course! I'd like to sit with you, sure. Let's go!" He started walking toward an empty table on the other side of the cafeteria from my family, thank God.

"So where did you sit yesterday?" I asked.

"In my car. Lame, I know. I'm normally pretty outgoing and it's never been hard for me to make friends. But this place...I dunno. The girls are all outrageously flirty and fake, and most of the guys have been jerks. I'm sure you've noticed." he teased.

While he was talking, I saw my family staring at me over Owens shoulder. They had different expressions on their faces that ranged from curiosity (in Jasper's case) to anger (Jake, of course). You could tell that half the students in the room were waiting for Jake to flip out. Hoping for it, I'm sure. I needed to take care of this. "Owen?" I said after he'd finished speaking. "Excuse me, but I need to speak to my family really quickly. I'll be right back." He nodded, so I stood up and walked to their table.

"You need something, Renesmee?" my mother asked.

"Yes! I need you all to quit staring at me!"

"You didn't tell us that you wouldn't be sitting with us today," Alice stated, "we were curious. You could have brought him to sit over here you know. We don't bite."

She giggled and I glared at her. "If you would all go on about your business as normal, that would make me immensely _happy_." I looked directly at Jacob as I said the last word. He looked slightly dazed, but nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Jake. See you in gym." I spun on my heel and started back to my table.

"I'm sorry about that. I just needed to let them know that I'm sitting here today." I explained, slightly exasperated.

He squinted his eyes, "If it's an issue, we can sit with them if you'd like. I don't want to cause problems between you and your family."

Wow. He must like me, at least a little bit, if he offered to sit with my family. They were quite an intimidating group. "NO! That's okay. I'd like a little time away from them anyway. English is the only class I have without one of them in it." I wanted to nip his idea in the bud as quickly as possible.

I found out a lot about Owen that day at lunch. He had a 12 year old sister, Amanda, who he adored. His house was full of animals. His parents, being hippies, took in every stray that wandered into their yard. He drove a hybrid VW Jetta, but wanted a big SUV for off roading. His mother was an architect who designed environmentally stable, modern homes and his father was a rather well known sculptor. He hoped to be a writer one day, or a doctor.

His life sounded delightful to me. Free spirited parents who took him roaming through Europe and gave him the freedom to do and become whatever he wanted. Luckily, questioning him about his life took up most of lunch, so I didn't have to think of any answers of my own. The bell rang and we stood to walk to gym.

"With the risk of sounding too much like Josh," he winked at me, "would you like to run the track with me today?"

If he hadn't winked at me, it would have been easy to tell him that I should probably work out with Jake. But he did wink, so I smiled and told him that I'd love to. He walked me to the locker rooms and disappeared through the door marked 'Men'. I stood and waited for Jake, a hard knot building in the pit of my stomach.

"Um, Jake. Can I talk to you?" I asked quietly.

"Sure, Ness. But before you start I wanted to tell you that it's fine if Owen runs with us today. I figured that's what you'd want to ask, and I'm looking forward to getting to know him." An evil smile spread across Jacobs dark face.

I stared blankly at him as I comprehended what he was saying. "You jerk!" I shouted when I figured it out. "You heard me say yes when he asked me! You know I can't keep you from working out with us...I swear if you embarrass me, Jacob Black, I will never forgive you!"

I huffed off into the ladies locker room. I should have known that Jake would try to turn the tables. I knew if I begged Jake to leave us alone, he would, but I shouldn't have to beg and pull the 'I'm your imprint you better do what I say' card. Besides, it would hurt him if I did and he knew I wouldn't hurt him on purpose. What a Jerk.

I opened my bag and got out my clothes to change. I froze with my pants half down when Annie came and introduced herself and said hello. "Uh, Hey." I returned, quickly pulling on my stretch pants.

"I just love the shirt you're wearing today," she said in a sugary tone. "Where did you get it?" Silence. "I meant to ask you in Spanish, but I didn't get the chance," she continued.

I recovered from my shock and told her truthfully, "I'm not sure, actually. My cousin, Alice, does most of the shopping." I pulled the shirt off and looked at the label. "Umm, the tank top is Dolce and Gabbana," I bent down to pick up the cardigan that I wore over it, "and this is Michael Kors." I finished with a shrug. She looked at me with her eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open.

I really needed to learn more about fashion from Alice. I liked to shop, but I rarely looked at labels or price tags. I should have just said 'Banana Republic', that probably wouldn't have elicited the stare that was boring into me now.

The voice of the coach boomed from outside the locker room door, "Girls, you all need to be out on the track in 2 minutes!" he bellowed.

"We'd better get going." I said to Annie as I shoved my bag under the bench. I'd gotten up and walked off before she started blinking again.

As soon as I walked out onto the track I wished that I could melt into a puddle on the spot. Standing apart from the rest of the group, Jake and Owen were talking to each other. What were they saying?! Had Jake scared the crap out of him yet?! I couldn't hear over the chattering of the rest of the class. As I moved closer, I began to pick up their conversation.

"That's really cool!" Jake said happily. "I love Volkswagen, I built a Rabbit from scrap. I'll have to drive it to school sometime to show you."

"Yeah, man. That'd be awesome. I've been thinking about restoring an old Bronco my dad used to drive back in the day."

What was going on here? I walked up to where they stood, not sure what to say. "Uh, hey guys."

Owen smiled at me and Jake said "Yeah, hey Ness. Just a sec., 'kay?" He turned back to Owen and continued talking about cars. What the...?

"Sorry about that," Owen said a minute later when they had wrapped up their conversation, "Jacob knows so much about restoration! He's going to help me with my Bronco, isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, and I might even bring Rose along to help out." Jacob attempted to joke.

"Jake, Edward wanted me to tell you something this morning and I forgot, can I see you by the bleachers for a minute?" I said sweetly. I didn't want Owen to think this was about him. "We'll be right back."

I glided over to the bleachers and turned my back to Owen, so he couldn't see my face as I confronted Jake.

"What are you _doing_?!" I hissed at him.

"Oh calm down. Edward just made a very good point over lunch, and I decided that it was worth a try." He told me nonchalantly.

"Do tell," I seethed.

"Well, he said that we might as well be nice to the guy. If you liked him, we will have to meet him eventually. For me it's more of a keep your friends close and your enemies closer thing."

"Owen is _not_ your enemy."

"Okay, but he _is_ my competition."

I growled at him and walked back to Owen.

"So do I get to ask you some questions now?" he asked as we started walking around the track to warm up.

"I guess that's only fair." I told him.

"Why did you move from Arizona?"

"Carlisle, my uncle, is a doctor. He got a good job offer from the hospital here."

"Do you miss it?"

How to answer this question? Did I miss it? No, because I'd never actually lived there. "I do miss some things, but I wasn't unhappy to go." That was a good nondescript answer.

"Do you like living with so many people?"

Well, this I could definitely be truthful about, "Sometimes. Sometimes I hate it though. There is no privacy and we all have very different personalities. Thankfully, the house is big enough that you can go off into a corner by yourself if you need to."

Jacob caught up to us then and joined the conversation. "Nessie just gets mad because everyone picks on her. She's the baby." He laughed at his little inside joke.

Owen continued on with his questions, "Do you have any pets?"

I was about to answer no, when Jake opened his stupid mouth, "Yeah, she has a dog."

I wished I could smack him. I couldn't, so instead I replied, "He's pretty dumb though, impossible to train. We just let him roam around in the woods behind the house, hoping he'll find a new home and not come back, but he always does."

Owen looked a little confused by the rant about my stupid dog. Jake looked at him and in a very serious voice said, "That dog loves her more than anything, he'll always come back. No matter what other new pets she decides to get."

"Sounds like an okay dog, Nessie. Do you really not like him?" Owen asked.

I shot daggers at Jake with my eyes and answered, "Most of the time, I love him...but there are days when a trip to the pound or the _vet_," I raised one eyebrow to be sure Jacob got the point, "doesn't seem like such a bad idea."


	8. Chapter 8

"Ugh, that was a horrible class!" Wren said to me as we walked out of math on Wednesday. I really liked her. She was incredibly laid back, a temperament that she must have acquired from the beaches of Southern California, where she had moved from over the summer. She looked like she had just wandered in off the beach, tan and natural with flowing tank tops and shorts, even though it was in the low 60's outside.

"Yeah," I agreed wholeheartedly, I hated math. "Where are you going?" I asked as she started heading for the doors to the parking lot.

"I've been leaving during lunch, not a fan of sitting alone."

She'd mentioned that other than Alice, Mom and I, no one had spoken to her after she introduced herself on the first day. "You'll get in big trouble for that, come sit with me," I insisted. She smiled and turned to follow me to the cafeteria.

Jake joined us in the hall, "Hey Ness, I'm sitting with you at lunch today. The lovebirds are driving me nuts." He pointed toward my parents, aunt and uncle.

I laughed and said, "Its the anniversary of the day Alice and Jasper first met, he's been sending waves of love out toward her all morning. You can sit with us as long as you behave."

He rolled his eyes and then noticed Wren walking on the other side of me. "Hey, who's your friend?"

"Jake, this is Wren. We have math together. Wren, this is my live in best friend, Jake."

We made our way into the lunch line and met up with Owen. "Hey!" he said brightly when he saw me. "I hope you don't mind, I asked a friend to sit with us today." He motioned toward a plain boy with short brown hair and kind eyes, "This is Allen, he transferred from Northside, he's a Junior. We live across the street from each other."

"Hey, Allen. It's nice to meet you. I don't mind at all, I've actually brought some friends of my own."

Wren stepped forward to say hello to the two boys, while Jake introduced himself to Allen and started asking Owen questions about his car. While we chatted in line, a burly boy with flaming red hair came up and spoke to Jake.

"Hey, man! I brought that catalog you were asking about yesterday."

"Awesome!" Jake replied enthusiastically, "Everyone this is Luke, he's into cars too. We have science together 6th hour."

"This is my twin, Rory," Luke said, pulling a small, shy looking girl out from behind him. If it was possible, her hair was even more red than his.

Introductions started all over again. "Huh, isn't it weird that we're all new here? I haven't made a single friend who isn't new!" I said after learning that Luke and Rory had just moved from a few towns over. "I guess people at this school aren't terribly inclusive." Oh well, I thought, the new kids had a clique of their own now.

Before I knew it, it was 7th period on Friday. Getting to know my new friends made the time fly, and I was actually sad that the weekend was here. I was only half listening to the teacher as she gave us our assignment for the weekend, but I knew I'd missed something when the whole class groaned loudly.

After she had finished talking Owen turned around in his seat and said, "Can you believe that? 10 essay questions for homework! This is going to take all weekend."

I looked the questions over in my book, this was definitely going to be time consuming. "It's too bad we can't do it with partners, it would go a lot faster with one person looking up passages and the other doing research."

"Brilliant!" He exclaimed as he raised his hand. "Mrs. Cross? Is it okay if we do this with a partner?"

She looked at us for a moment, "Sure, that would be fine. I don't want identical essays though. Do your research and reading together, but don't copy work."

Relieved sighs filled the room. "How about it, partner?" Owen asked me.

This had turned out better than I'd hoped! Now I had an excuse to see him over the weekend. I grinned happily, "Yeah, that'd be great! And I'd love to see some of your Dad's work." I threw in the comment about his dad in hopes that he'd ask me to his house instead of wanting to come to mine. I doubted he was ready to meet the Cullens yet...

"Oh, well... I'd totally do it at my house, but my mom is having a bunch of work people over on Saturday and my dad is getting a shipment of granite into his studio on Sunday...trust me, you don't want to be there for that. Can't we do it at your place?"

How in the world was I going to get out of this one? I desperately wanted to see him this weekend, but the thought of him meeting the _whole_ family freaked me out beyond words. Before I could suggest the public library he added, "I still haven't met anyone in your family besides Jake. The rest of them look nice enough, but do they not like me or something? I've been wondering why they don't sit with us at lunch."

"No, no! That's not it at all," I tried to quickly reassure him, "they're just so wrapped up in each other most of the time that they ignore everyone without really meaning to. They've actually been bugging me to meet you....and everyone else," I added quickly. It was the truth, sort of. They _were_ usually too busy staring lovingly at each other to notice much else. They had also been bugging me, on a nightly basis, to meet Owen. I threw in the 'and everyone else' to keep him from guessing that he was a major topic of discussion at my house. I had asked them repeatedly to not sit with us at lunch. Normal kids didn't eat lunch and hang out with their parents.

If I wanted to hangout with Owen this weekend, there was no way around it. We were going to have to study at my house. "Why don't you come over tomorrow around noon? That way if we don't finish we still have Sunday to work on it." I said, writing down the address to the house on a scrap of paper.

"Great! See you tomorrow, Nessie!" He beamed and got up to leave as the bell rang.

As I walked across the parking lot to the car, Alice ran at me and practically mowed me over.

"Oh Ness! I'm so excited! I love it when new people come to the house! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She jumped up and down and looked like she'd just won the lottery. I pushed her off of me and got into the backseat of the Volvo without a word. I needed to think about what I was going to say to them all when we got home, what could I say that would keep them all in line? I wondered if Dad would take Uncle Emmett on an extended hunting trip over the weekend...

"Nope." he said as he slid into the drivers seat.

"Oh come on! Please Daddy?!"

"You think I'm going to pass up the chance to meet the boy my little girl likes? No way. I get to play the scary big brother...that's almost as good as a dad!"

"Aww, Dad. You've got to be kidding!"

"Only a little." he said with a laugh.

"MOM!" I wailed as she hopped in the passenger seat.

"Don't freak out. Alice, Rose and I will keep them all in line."

That made me feel better, but only slightly. My brain started working overtime on the drive home, and by the time we got there, I knew what I was going to do. Beg. I knew it would work with Jake, but he wasn't the one I was worried about. He also wasn't the only one I had wrapped around my finger. I _was_ still the baby, and if I came across as sad and pathetic as possible, they might take pity on me.

When I walked in the door I said, "Family meeting in the dining room please." and headed for the room that held Grandma Esme's huge mahogany dining table. As was custom, I sat at the head of the table, since I had called the meeting. Alice and my Dad came in with knowing, bemused looks on their faces. Everyone else looked confused.

When they were seated, I started in my most pleading tone of voice, "I called you all here to beg, plead and cry if I have to. Owen is coming here to do homework with me tomorrow and I am asking all of you from the bottom of my heart, _please_ don't make this difficult or embarrassing."

Uncle Emmett burst out into a rather evil laugh, but Aunt Rose smacked him in the back of the head and said, "Of course, Nessie. We would _never_," she glared at Emmett, "make this hard for you. You should feel comfortable bringing anyone you like into our home."

Dad snorted, "Ha! That's some change of heart you've had in the past 10 years, Rose."

"It's different with Nessie," she shot back, "she's half human, she should have all the human friends she wants, there's no risk of her killing them! Unlike when you brought a certain human home..."

Dad pounded the table and stood up like he was going to fly across the room at Aunt Rose.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled before it could get too out of hand. Dad snapped his mouth shut and sat back down. "Just, please, I want you all to promise me that you'll be nice and that you won't hover."

"Of course, dear. If that's what you'd like."

"Thank you Grandma...I mean, Esme...I guess I should get used to calling you that."

She smiled and patted my hand lovingly.

"Alright then everybody, noon tomorrow. Act human."

I slept restlessly all night, waking up every time I tossed and turned, finally just giving up around 6am. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed my mother curled up in my fathers lap, reading a book on the sofa.

"Good morning, sweetie. It sounded like you didn't sleep well." she said, setting her reading material down and getting up to give me a hug. I didn't want to explain, so I just touched her cheek and showed her the dreams I'd been having.

She laughed gently, "Don't worry about a thing. Rose has Emmett well under control, and you know Jasper would never do anything to upset you. I'll make sure he keeps the mood light and calm. As for your father, just leave that to me." She gave me a sly wink and my dad snorted indignantly.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"Out hunting, and Jacob is still asleep," Dad answered.

While Jake was still asleep and couldn't hear me, I needed some information from my father. "Dad, how is Jake holding up? He seems to kinda like Owen, but I'm not really sure about his motives."

He smiled kindly at me, "Nessie, he's fine. You and your mother worry entirely too much about that mutt. He _does_ like Owen, even though he doesn't really want to. His motivation in the beginning was less than honorable in that regard, but Owen seems to be growing on him."

"Thanks, Dad."

I skipped into the kitchen to cook some eggs, when Alice burst through the back door. I swear, she always seemed to be moving like a tornado lately.

"Nessie! Are you thirsty? I'll go out hunting with you if you'd like," she said distastefully as she watched me crack 3 eggs into a mixing bowl.

"Nah, this will do, thanks though." I replied without looking up from my eggs. When I peered up from my bowl, she was giving me a look that I knew well. "Aunt Alice, I do not have time to go shop this morning!" I told her sternly.

"That's not what I want! I just bought a carload of stuff last night..." she said as she raised one eyebrow at me.

I sighed and poured my eggs into the skillet, "Fine, dress me up however you like...within reason. I don't need a formal dress to do a homework assignment."

She clapped her hands, gave me a quick hug and darted up the stairs, on her way to lay out at least 10 options for me, I was sure.

After I finished breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, argued with Jake over the remote control (he won), played a game of chess with Uncle Jasper, and wandered the house aimlessly for a half hour, I had nothing else to do but go get ready. I took a long shower and blew my curls dry so that they were extra bouncy. Then, I wrapped myself in my terry cloth robe and headed into my room. Aunt Alice was sitting on the bed surrounded by clothes, a perplexed look on her angelic face.

"Have trouble picking out the right thing?" I asked her.

She nodded and let out a long frustrated breath, "You'll just have to try it all on! I can't tell until I see it all on you."

"No way!" I told her as I came to inspect what I had to choose from. I pointed to a whole section on the bed that was covered in satin and lace cocktail dresses, "I hardly think those are appropriate for a study session. These either," I picked up a pile of clothes loaded with sequins, rhinestones and crazy patterns, "honestly, Alice. I'm not going to a night club!"

"I know that! I just want you to have choices!"

"Well, here then," I said, picking up a pretty dress that was casual enough and perfect for the unusually warm weather outside, "I love this."

Aunt Alice bounced up and down on the bed, causing clothes to fly all over the room. "I knew you'd like that! It was one of my favorites!"

I pulled the soft material over my head and turned to look in the mirror. Alice knew what she was doing, the dress _was_ beautiful. It had thin straps, a v-neck, and it pulled in just slightly around my waist and then floated down to a few inches above my knees. It was light blue in color, like a lot of the clothes she bought me.

"Here," she said as she handed me a pair of earthy brown ballet flats, "these dress it down even more. Pull your hair half back, so it's out of your face and you'll be good to go! No need to try anything else on. That dress is perfect."

I did what she said, gathered my school books and went downstairs to wait. Everyone else was sitting in living room, waiting, just like I was. I'm sure we looked like a picture out of a magazine ad sitting stock still in our designer clothes on our high end furniture in the middle of our mansion. But at that moment, I wished for nothing more than a simple suburban house, with normal worn in furniture, and a family outfitted in Old Navy and Gap. A place so unassuming that no one would ever notice that we were a little different. I heard a car brake and turn up the long driveway. Owen was here.


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as I heard the car I raced through the house to the front door. Once I got outside, I slowed to a walk and descended one side of the double staircase that led to the entrance. At the bottom, I stopped by the ivy covered fountain that separated the stairs and waited for him to park his car in the circle drive. He opened his door and stood up, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

He turned to me and said in a sarcastic tone, "A little warning might have been nice."

"I told you our house was big. There _are_ 10 us us."

"_This_ is not a house. It looks an awful lot like..."

"Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills?" I finished his sentence. "This house was vaguely modeled after it, built a few years later in the 1930's, by a jealous business competitor. He couldn't quite match the original though, ours is smaller." I had heard all about the history of this house from Grandma Esme and I knew Owen would know what Greystone Mansion was, his mother being an architect and all.

He just stared at me. "Not too shabby," he said after he regained his composure and began walking up the steps to go inside.

"Um, just so you know, my whole family is waiting inside to meet you."

"So? I figured I'd meet most of them today. Should I be afraid?" He laughed.

Yes! I wanted to tell him. "No," I said instead, "I just thought I'd give you fair warning." I turned the door knob and walked in. "Act human" I hissed under my breath at vampire speed. We entered the large living area and I let out a relieved breath. Uncle Jasper and Aunt Rose sat playing chess at the table by the window, Mom and Dad were curled up on the couch, watching with amused expressions as Uncle Emmett, Jake, and Grandpa Carlisle played a video game on the large flat screen that was hung on the wall. Aunt Alice and Grandma Esme were laying on their stomachs on the floor looking at dozens of design magazines that were spread out around them. I cleared my throat.

"Hey, man!" Jake said as he sat his controller on the floor. "You gonna come check out the Rabbit with me when you and Ness finish your homework?"

"Um, sure," Owen mumbled as he took in his surroundings. The room _was_ impressive. It had once been a ballroom, but Grandma Esme loved the tall ceilings and windows, so she knocked out a few walls and turned it into the living room. It was decorated mostly in white, as all our houses were, with large colorful paintings warming the space.

"Everyone this is Owen Ross. Owen, this is my family," I pointed to each person as I named them.

"Welcome to our home, Owen. We're very glad to have you," Grandma Esme said graciously.

"Well, we need to get going on our homework," I blurted out quickly before anyone else could speak, "do you want to work outside, since it's so warm, or up in my room?"

The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew I was in trouble. Jake turned a furious shade of red that I'd never seen before, and my mother snapped her teeth shut so loud that I was sure Owen must have heard it.

I thought Uncle Emmett was going to be my downfall today, but he turned out to be my savior...sort of. He spoke fast and low to my mom, "HA! As if we couldn't hear everything they were doing up there and Edward would know if any _impure_ thoughts crossed their minds. You worried that she'll be as eager as you, Bella?" Now he'd done it.

I blushed, Jacob stormed off to his room, and my father had to physically restrain my mother.

"If you don't think it will rain, I'm cool with going outside." Owen said, looking out the window to the cloudy sky, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.

"It won't rain!" Alice trilled without looking up from her magazine.

"Thanks, Alice." I grumbled. I picked up my books and marched toward the back door, with Owen following a few steps behind.

As I closed the door, Dad must have released my mother, because I heard a loud crash that could only be Emmett being slammed against a wall_._

"I'm so sorry about that." I said, wondering exactly how much he had heard and seen.

"Hum, for what?" he mumbled, looking around the expansive gardens with wide eyes.

I guess our house was good for something, it had diverted his attention long enough for that little spat to remain unnoticed. "Here, come this way, I know the perfect place where we'll have lots of room to spread our stuff out. Oh crap, I forgot the laptop." I pointed him in the direction of my favorite area of the garden, behind the thick hedge, and turned back to the house.

I really had left the computer inside on accident, but I was glad. This was a good excuse to go back in and see what everyone was saying about Owen. I wasn't disappointed.

"He wasn't nervous at all!" Jasper said, surprise painting his tone, "I didn't have to calm him one bit."

"What was the thinking of, Edward?" my mother asked.

"Nessie, mostly. But he was fascinated by the house and the artwork, too."

He thought mostly of me? I couldn't resist asking, "What did the think about me, Daddy?"

"You know I don't like to tell others thoughts, unless it's absolutely necessary, and I hardly think this is," he told me sternly.

"Oh come on, Edward. It's her first date, give her a little peace of mind and tell her," Aunt Rose urged.

Mom and Dad both growled when the word 'date' slid through her lips. Was this a date? I didn't think so. My thoughts must have eased my fathers mind, because he told me, "He thinks that the color of your dress makes your eyes look nice and that you're very down to earth for being so rich. He also thinks that you're the best looking in our family, Ness." He grinned at Aunt Rose. "You wanted me to tell her..." he added when her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed into slits.

My mother and I laughed, only Aunt Rose would be vain enough to care if a human boy found her more attractive than me. "Hey...where's Uncle Emmett?" I asked when I noticed he wasn't in the room with everyone else, "What'd you do to him Mom?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a quick shove into the wall...Jasper is taking care of the rest."

I stepped in front of Uncle Jasper to grab the computer and suddenly felt what she was talking about. Waves of remorse and anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks. He must be sending all of that in the direction of Emmett and Rose's room. Yuck, I got out of his way as quickly as possible and headed toward the back yard.

"Be good!" I heard my father call as I ran across the grass toward my little Eden where I'd sent Owen. I rounded corner of the tall hedge and stopped in my tracks. He was laying on his back under the bright red Japanese Maple with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed.

He was so beautiful, I could hardly catch my breath. It wasn't the angelic perfection that made my family so attractive, or the ancient, natural beauty that I loved about Jake. It was something I couldn't put my finger on, something so _human_. Perfect in its imperfection.

He opened his eyes slowly and sat up on one elbow, "I don't know how you expect me to get any work done. If I lived here, I'd never leave this spot. This would be a perfect day, if only the sun would come out," he said in his raspy voice.

"Um, yeah. Too bad about the sun," I lied and then continued, "but this won't take too long if we buckle down and then we can hang out here as long as you want."

He sighed and flipped his book open. We spent the next two hours engrossed in our assignment. It went by fast, we had both already read _A __Separate Peace _more than once, so we knew what we were looking for. After we outlined our essays, we decided that we were at a good stopping place.

"That was the most fun I've had studying in a long time," he said as he got up and went to look in the Koi pond a few yards away.

"Same here," I concurred, "what do you want to do now?"

"Well, as lame as this sounds, I'd really like to see more of your house."

That didn't seem lame to me, our house was cool, and he had a background in art and fine architecture, two things our house was full of. "Sure, let's go. I'll give you the grand tour."

He reached out and grabbed my hands, pulling me up of the ground. "Wow, Nessie, your hands are really warm, are you okay? You aren't sick are you?"

Crap. "No, its just the heat from the laptop. I've been holding it all afternoon," I assured him. Good save, that was believable. He still looked concerned, but shrugged his shoulders. We carried all our stuff back to the house and set it down in the living room. Esme was the only one around, watching a show on the Home and Garden Network. "Where's everyone?" I asked her.

"Carlisle is at the hospital, Alice and Rose are shopping, Emmett and Jasper went for a hike, Edward is in the music room, I believe Bella is in there with him, and Jake is in the garage."

Perfect, everyone was out of the way, I could give my tour in peace. "I'm going to show Owen the rest of the house, is that alright?"

She nodded and waved us on our way. I showed him everything of interest downstairs, saving the room that my father and mother were in for later, and then took him up the sweeping front staircase that led to the bedrooms above. I pointed at various closed doors and told him who's room it was, then we turned the corner and went to the door at the end of the hall. My room.

"This room suits you," he said as I followed him in. He went to the window seat and peered out onto the backyard below, "nice view."

I watched him look at the black and white framed photos that hung on the walls. "These are wonderful. Who took them?"

"My mother," I said without thinking. The pictures were of all my favorite places around Forks and La Push, she had taken them and given them too me just before we moved. There was one of the river near the house, the little cottage that had been our first home, Charlies house, First Beach, the baseball clearing, and the meadow that had been a special place for my parents long before I was born. I sighed thinking of all the things there that I missed.

"You must really miss her," he said softly. What? Crap. I really needed to watch what I said a little more closely.

"Um, I do. But it's been so long I hardly remember, so it's alright." I hated lying to him, but what other choice did I have? This was getting sticky, so I decided to move it along. "Do you want to see my favorite room? I saved it for last."

We walked silently down the stairs and to the other side of the house, I stopped in front of a set of huge French doors and listened to my dad playing the lullaby he wrote for my mother. I knocked softly. The playing stopped and I heard my dad tell us to come in.

Owen gasped audibly when I swung the doors open. "Wow, this is just...wow."

"Do you see why it's my favorite?"

He nodded and continued to take in the room around him. Esme had designed it specifically for my dad, it had state of the art sound equipment and rows and rows of shelves full of his CD's and records. The shiny grand piano stood facing the huge window with gold and cream chaise lounges and deep arm chairs gathered around it.

"Do you all play?" he asked in awe.

"Just Nessie and I, really. The others _can_ play...just not well," my dad laughed. He motioned for me to come sit on the bench next to him. "You want to show off a little bit, sis?" I rolled my eyes and thought 'not really, but you're in a good mood, _bro_, so I will'.

We began playing a composition that we wrote together over 3 years ago, it was very complex and layered, there was no way one person could play it alone. I glanced at Owen and saw the look of admiration on his face. Dad leaned into me and whispered so that only he and I could hear, "He thinks you're perfect."


	10. Chapter 10

"That was amazing," Owen said softly as we walked down the wide main hallway of the house. My father and I had finished our piece, and I was taking Owen to the garage to see Jake and his car before he went home. I hardly heard him because my mind was still ringing with what my dad had said, 'he thinks you're perfect'.

"Thanks," I replied after a few long seconds, trying without success to calm my pounding heart. I opened a door and took him through a small sun porch to the side yard and down a path with a covered portico overhead. The garage was a few hundred feet from the house and had once been stables, of course Grandma Esme had converted it to suit our needs. Garage might have conveyed the wrong message, it was more like a showroom. I pushed a button and a huge door, large enough for a semi to drive through, began to rise.

"Oh. My. _GOD_."

I had to laugh when I looked at Owens face. If he'd looked amazed in the music room, he looked downright floored now. My family's fleet of vehicles stood around the cavernous room, all expensive, shiny and perfect. Jacob was polishing my fathers Aston Martin, a favorite of his, "Nice, huh?" he laughed.

Owen still hadn't regained the power of speech, or mobility apparently, so I grabbed his arm and led him into the space. "I'll let you take over from here Jake, I wouldn't really know what I was showing him." I definitely knew more about cars than your average high school girl, I _had_ grown up watching Jacob work, but anything more than the basics I was sure to louse up. I went to go sit on the soft, black sofa that was pushed against the back wall. Uncle Emmett and I had requested it, since we spent so much time out here with Jake and Aunt Rose.

Jake went around the room showing off each car, popping the hoods to reveal the power underneath. Owen eventually loosened up and began asking questions, I tuned them all out and reflected back on the day I'd just spent. I was so nervous this morning, but I couldn't be more at ease now. My family hadn't scared Owen off, if anything they seemed to like him much more than I'd expected. Another thing I hadn't expected was how much I'd like having him here, having him know more than the carefully constructed mask I wore at school allowed, even if it was only slightly more.

I don't know how long I sat there thinking the events of the day over and over again, but I snapped out of my daze when Owen came and sat down next to me.

"This has been the coolest day," he started, "I'm glad we had that English assignment."

"Me too, its wonderful having some company that isn't family."

"I should probably get going, I made plans to hang out with Allen tonight and I don't want to wear out my welcome here or anything."

"Oh! You aren't. I like having you here. Stay as long as you want. Please." I said a little more urgently than I'd meant to.

"I really should get to Allen's, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came. Would you like to?"

I searched his eyes, green right now, and they looked almost pleading. I wanted to go with him, but I also wanted to drill my father for more information before I got anymore hooked. I was feeling like I could spend all my time with Owen and it frightened me.

"I think I'd better stick around here, I was planning on having dinner with Alice." I told him honestly, I _had_ said I'd hunt with her this evening.

"Oh, okay," he responded in a slightly dejected tone, "I guess I'll see you Monday, Nessie. I had fun today." He put a half smile on his face, but his eyes still looked down. I'd made him unhappy, great. I didn't want him to think that I hadn't enjoyed our time together, and I wanted to make sure he knew that I wanted to repeat this day over and over and over again.

"Well, if you have any trouble with the essays tomorrow, we could meet up and finish them together," I said brightly, "just call me and let me know." I knew he wouldn't have trouble with the essay, but what a convenient reason to spend another few hours with each other this weekend!

He perked up visibly, "Great! You might be hearing from me tomorrow then."

I walked around the garden for a while after he'd left, watching the clouds change color as twilight approached. My thoughts picked up where they had left off in the garage, but when darkness began to fall, I turned to go inside.

Everyone had returned from their various outings and they were all gathered in the living room, waiting for me, no doubt. My mother was sitting on the couch and patted the open seat next to her. I went and curled up at her side as she wrapped her stone arms around me. My father was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against my mothers knees, his head in her lap.

Aunt Alice broke the comfortable silence first, "So, how was the rest of your day, Nessie?" I smiled at her casual tone, because I knew she was _dying_ to know everything that had happened while she was out with Aunt Rose. I wasn't the only one who guessed at her intentions, everyone laughed and Uncle Jasper urged, "Come on, Nessie, just tell her, you know she's about to pop!"

"It was nice," I started, "we got most of our work done and then I took him on a tour of the house. Dad and I played a little piano for him, and Jake showed him around the garage."

"And?" Aunt Rose added.

"And...then he went home.." I said, confused by her question.

Uncle Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes, "Forgive Rose, she's trying to be subtle. You know I don't have that problem," he grinned widely at my father and then looked back toward me, "She wants to know if the two of you are an item now, and if we're going to have another change to attend to."

Everyone gasped loudly. My fathers head snapped up and he growled furiously. "I've only known him a week!" I choked. The thought of changing someone sent chills up my spine, I remembered only too clearly the image of my mother during her change. I shuddered and her arms tightened around me.

"Emmett, that was out of line," Grandpa Carlisle said in a low, angry voice.

Aunt Rose chimed in, in defense of her husband, "Oh come on, Carlisle. You know everyone is thinking it, what's going to happen if this follows the same path as Edward and Bella?"

Why were they ruining this day for me?! I had been so happy, and now the conversation had turned to making a boy I hardly knew part of the family! Tears began to sting my eyes.

"Enough," my father said in a menacing voice, "can't you see you're upsetting her? I hardly think this is something we need to worry about right now."

"You would know," Uncle Emmett said to him. Yes, he would, I thought. I wanted to know everything my father knew about the situation, but how could I get him to tell me? He looked at me, raised his eyebrow and nodded once. Wait, he was actually going to tell me what Owen was thinking? Seriously? Without having to beg? He half smiled and nodded once again. YES!

"But Alice would know better," Uncle Emmett continued. We all looked in her direction and she began to shake her head.

"I get flashes, but it's too tangled up with Nessie and Jake for me to get anything clearly." She saw my frustrated expression and asked, "Do you want to go hunt now, Ness? Get out of here for awhile?"

I nodded, but she had misunderstood the look on my face. I was actually relieved that she couldn't see anything, the future was something I didn't want to know. I was just getting tired of sitting here, listening to them all talk about my life like I had no say in the matter. I wanted to be alone with my parents.

"Alice? Would you mind very much if Bella and I took Nessie out tonight? We need some family time."

There were times when I loved that my father could read minds, this was one of them.

"Um, sure. That's fine, I'll just go later with Jasper."

We stood to go, and I noticed that Jacob had been sitting very quietly in the corner, not joining in the conversation about the direction that my life was going. How unlike him. I walked over and touched his face.

"I'm fine, sweetie. I just don't think it's my place to talk about this now. Your family has a right to be concerned, but their reasons are different from mine. We all mean well, just remember that."

When had Jake become so mature? I made a mental note to ask my Dad about what was going on with him.

Within a couple of minutes, my mother, father and I were miles from the house, well out of hearing range. We stopped and stood together in a small clearing, ignoring the roaming animals of the forest for the time being. 'Should I start? or would you like to?' I thought.

"You can ask whatever you like, but I won't guarantee that I'll have an answer for you."

"Thats fine," I told him, "Did Owen suspect anything about us?"

Dad thought for a moment, "Not in the way you mean, people don't just figure that out so easily. He wondered how we came by all our money, especially since Carlisle is so young, but that's to be expected. He also thinks it's odd that Jacob is with his, since he is so obviously different."

"What's with Jake?" I asked. "He and Owen really seem to get along, but he acts so _blah_ about him sometimes."

My mom spoke up before my Dad could start, "Honey, you have to know how hard this is for him. He's doing remarkably well, I think."

"He does like Owen, quite a bit more than even I expected. I've been sharing some of Owens thoughts with him, and I think that has helped."

My dads words stung. Owen must not care for me the way I thought, that's the only thing that could make Jake like him. I felt myself start to sink, how could I have misread so many signals?

Dad laughed lightly, "So much like your mother, you have no idea the effect you have on men. He does care for you Nessie. Much to my displeasure at first, but after a few days I saw that he liked you for all the right reasons. That's why Jake doesn't mind, he can't dislike someone who has honorable intentions and who makes you so happy. I feel the same way."

I just stared at him, my mind at a complete blank. I heard my mother start to speak, but didn't comprehend the words for several seconds.

"....so young, but we only want whats best for you. Don't feel like you need to rush into anything, you have all the time in the world ahead of you."

That caught my attention. Did I have all the time in the world? Not with Owen I didn't. I had 60 or 70 years, not long at all in the big scheme of things. Panic set in.

"Yes, that is a problem," my father said in response to my thoughts. "Are you in love with him?"

Was I? I had no idea. The only kind of love I'd ever experienced was with my family, even the love I felt for Jacob was more brotherly than anything else. Did I even know Owen well enough to love him? No. For most of my family love was such an instant thing, they all knew the moment they'd laid eyes on each other. Even my father, after he got over wanting to kill her, had known very quickly that Mom was the one. My relationship with Owen was more human than anything they had experienced, and I wanted it to develop naturally.

"Bella, our daughter is wise beyond her years, I don't think we have a thing to worry about."


	11. Chapter 11

I had never felt as alive or normal, as I did when I was with Owen. All of the crazy things I lived with on a daily basis just melted away. Our relationship was going exactly as I wanted it to. It was obvious that there was an attraction, but we were still getting to know each other, so no moves were made. We spent some afternoons studying in the gardens behind my house, and others with our friends from lunch. I wasn't terribly eager to have them all to my house, so we were often congregated at Wren's large farm on the outskirts of town.

Nearly three weeks after Owens first visit to my house he walked up to me in the hall after Spanish, "Hey, I have to take off early today for a doctors appointment, but you'll be at Wren's tonight, right?"

"Of course. She said we were having a movie night."

"See you tonight then," he smiled and disappeared into his next class. The day passed slowly knowing that I wouldn't see him at lunch or in English. Uncle Jasper and Dad had taken the day off to go on an extended hunting trip a few states away, so Aunt Alice and Mom joined our lunch table. It would have looked odd if they never interacted with Jake and I at lunch, so a couple of times a week they sat with us. It gave my parents a chance to get to know and trust my friends, which helped out greatly when I was asking permission to go out on the weekends.

I tried desperately to get my father to tell me what was in the heads of my friends, but he wouldn't reveal a thing. It must have been good though, he often had bemused looks on his face whenever he was near them.

"Hey Bella! Hey Alice! Where are the guys today?" Luke asked jovially as he came and sat next to my mother.

"They went camping with their big brother for the weekend for male bonding and all that," she told him.

"Why didn't you go?" Rory said to Jake quietly. I really liked her, she was shy and reserved, but when she spoke it was worth listening to.

"Eh, camping with them is more trouble than its worth."

Alice, Mom and I laughed. Jake _hated_ hunting with the guys, all of their competitions, bets and games drove him crazy.

"Since the guys are gone, why don't you two come over to my house tonight. I hate that you never hang out with us!"

UGH. Wren and her inclusive nature...a quality I loved in her most of the time, but not when she extended the invitation to my family. I discreetly pretended to wipe a smudge off of my mom's face and showed her my feelings about her attending the outing.

"I don't know, Alice and I were planning on hanging out at home, but maybe! We'll catch a ride with Jake and Nessie if we decide to come," she said sweetly to Wren after I lowered my hand.

Phew, dodged a bullet there. If my dad had been here, he would have jumped at the chance to observe my friends and I away from school, Mom seemed to understand my desire for a life separate from my family.

Gym and choir passed without incident. As I made my way to English, Meg passed by in the hall and didn't spare me a second glance. After that first week, much of the gossip had quieted and we were generally ostracized. I didn't mind one bit. Josh hadn't even bothered me again after that first day in gym. Apparently a few dirty looks from my family had done the trick.

I sat in my usual seat, looking sadly at the empty one in front of me. Mrs. Cross got up from her desk and began to teach. We were finished a day early with our 4 week section on _A Separate Peace_, so we were going to go ahead and start on Shakespeare. We would be reading _Romeo and Juliet_, _Taming of the Shrew_, and _Henry V._ These would take us all the way to the end of the semester. Next week would be learning about Shakespeare himself and the time period he lived in.

I sighed. How boring. I loved Shakespeare, but not dissecting him to death, and I'd already read these plays. My home education had been more than thorough over the past 7 years. I sat and daydreamed about the upcoming weekend until the teacher gave us our homework. Watch any movie based on one of the plays we would be reading, it could be a direct or loose interpretation, then write a short essay about it. Hum, that was a kind of cool assignment.

"So what time are you heading over to Wren's?" My mother asked Jake and I in the car on the way home.

"She told me to be there around 7:00," Jake said from the drivers seat, "we're ordering pizza before we watch the movie." Jake must have seen the look of disgust on my face when he mentioned pizza, "Chill out, Ness," he laughed, "You know her mom always keeps some hard boiled eggs in the fridge for you. Just crumble some on your pizza and it won't taste so bad...you little freak."

We spent the afternoon lounging around feeling the warmth of the last of the summer days, waiting restlessly for 10 to 7 so we could leave.

"Let's GO!" Jake yelled from downstairs as I pulled a light sweater on and reapplied my lip gloss. I flew down the stairs and stopped right in front of him with my hands on my hips.

"There's no need to yell," I teased.

"Did you put on _perfume_?!" Jake asked indignantly as the open back door sent a breeze past me in his direction.

I nodded, "It's just a light orange blossom body mist, I don't see why it's such a big deal."

"As if you don't smell sweet enough. I don't like it." He made a face.

Uh..what was I suppose to say to _that_? If I told him the real reason why I wore it, he really wouldn't like it.

"Well, that's the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me. Thanks so much!" I said sarcastically. There, that was the easy way out.

As we walked into the garage, I headed toward the Rabbit that we normally took everywhere when Jake drove, but he headed toward the Vanquish.

"Um, Jake? The Rabbit?"

"Is out of commission at the moment. I forgot to order a part I needed. I called Edward and he said we could take the Aston Martin out as much as we wanted." He grinned like a kid in a candy store.

Well, this was just wonderful. So much for seeming normal to my other friends. I dragged my feet across the smooth floor and plopped into the passenger seat with a sigh. Jake laughed loudly.

"Only _you_ would rather ride around in an old VW instead of this."

We reached the sprawling farm in record time and pulled into the long drive right behind Owen and Allen. When we reached the house, Luke and Rory were just stepping out of the little blue Civic they shared and Wren was bounding down the front steps.

Owen didn't look surprised, he'd seen this car before. He must have told Allen, because he just looked at it appreciatively from a distance.

"Do we need to hide you out or sometime Jake? I knew you were a little crazy, but car theft? Come on man!" Luke said, only half joking.

"You know, you aren't the first person who thinks I've stolen this. Is it so unbelievable that it's mine?"

"YES" we all said in unison and then laughed at Jake's surprised face.

"It's my uncles," I lied. Telling them it belonged to Edward made no sense, him owning this car wasn't much more believable than Jake owning it.

While the guys stayed in the driveway 'Ohh-ing and Ahh-ing' over every detail Jake gave them about the car, the girls headed into the cozy house. It was so nice and welcoming, the first time I came over I felt at home instantly. The outside was a wooden and painted a light yellow, a large front porch wrapped around the entire exterior. The inside was full of family pictures, comfortable eclectic furniture and mementos of the life they'd left behind in California. I knew Wren missed it there, but this farm was her parents dream, so she suffered happily.

"Hey girls," Wrens mother said from the kitchen, "what kind of pizza does everyone like?"

"I'm good with whatever," it's all tasteless anyway, I added in my head, "but you know how Jake eats, Mrs. Fraser, so you might want to get a whole pepperoni for him!"

Once the pizza arrived and I'd choked down a couple of slices, Wren went and got out a stack of DVD's.

"Well, since Owen, Nessie and I all have Cross for English I thought we'd get our weekend assignment out of the way."

"Good thinking!" I told her, too bad she wasn't in 7th hour with us, she could have kept me company when Owen was gone today.

Jake groaned, "I don't want to have to sit through your homework! I doubt Rory, Luke and Allen do either!"

Wren ignored him and started listing the movies we had to pick from, "If we want to watch something _Taming of the Shrew_ related these are our options; 10 Things I Hate about You, Kiss Me Kate, and The Taming of The Shrew- the 1967 version with Elizabeth Taylor. For _Henry V _we have Henry V from 1945. And for _Romeo and Juliet_ we've got West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet, the 1968 and 1996 versions."

Romeo and Juliet seemed like a bad idea, too much symbolism that only Jake and I would get, "I vote for Kiss Me Kate," I said, "You know..keep it light."

"I hate musicals!" Jake exclaimed.

"Do you really want to end up with Romeo and Juliet?" I said under my breath so only he could hear.

"Kiss Me Kate is fine!!!"

Owen put in his two cents, "Jake, I don't think you know what you're saying. That movie is one of my moms favorites and it is about as girly as they come."

"Oh, because the rest of our choices are all so manly," Luke said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

Rory spoke up in a quiet voice, "I've see the '96 Romeo and Juliet, it's actually pretty decent. Enough action that I think the guys might like it."

"I've heard it's not so bad," Allen agreed.

Wren, who was growing irritated with the conversation, popped it into the player before anyone could object and came to sit in her spot by me. We were in our normal places around the Fraser's living room, Jake was stretched out on the love seat, his long legs hanging so far over armrest that they nearly touched the floor. Luke always claimed the huge recliner that was the most comfortable seat in the room, while Rory and Allen sprawled out on the floor with pillows. I sat in the middle of the long couch with Owen on one side of me and Wren on the other.

I'd never seen this version on the movie before and when it started, it wasn't at all what I expected. Over 30 minutes after it started I still wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but found myself being drawn in regardless. I looked at Jake and he had his eyes closed, like he was sleeping, but I knew he was just tuning it out.

Wren grabbed a pillow and slid onto the floor so that she could lay down, leaving Owen and I alone on the sofa. I froze. We had sat much closer than this in the gardens several times, but something about being a dark room, with no one else very close by, made it feel different.

Relax! I screamed inside my head. Nothing was different at all, we were still sitting exactly where we had been all night. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and then looked back at the screen quickly. He was looking at me. I swallowed my fear and turned my head toward him, looking in his eyes (hazel in the darkness) and turning up one corner of my mouth into a half smile.

"You don't look very comfortable," he whispered. Jake opened his eyes a fraction of an inch and snorted softly.

"I'm not, really." It wasn't a lie exactly, but there was no need to tell him that the reason I wasn't comfortable had nothing to do with my position on the couch.

"Here," he said as he grabbed a pillow and laid it on his leg, "everyone else is crashing, I need to sit up to stay awake, so go ahead."

Jake got up and walked over to where we sat, "Hey, Nessie. I'm not feeling so well. I think I'm going to head home." He looked at Owen, "Would you mind taking her home man?"

A concerned look crossed Owens face, "No, not at all. Are you alright to drive home?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. See you guys later."

I knew this would end badly. "Can you pause this for a minute? I'm just going to go walk Jake to the car."

I got up and followed him out the door. "Jake," I started when we got outside. He turned to face me and I was surprised by the look on his face. It wasn't the sad, hurt look that I was expecting, it was a totally serene expression. It stopped me in my tracks.

"Nessi, baby, I'm fine..I mean, fine with Owen. My stomach really doesn't feel too well though. I wouldn't let him drive you home if I wasn't cool with this. Have a good time, be happy." He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

I watched him drive away in my fathers flashy car and felt more confused than I ever had in my life. I tried to clear my head as I walked back across the porch and through the door.

"Is Jake okay?" Rory asked.

"Yes. He will be anyway."

I returned to the couch and made the split second decision to just go for it, to be happy. I laid down and put my head in Owen's lap. Wren turned the movie back on and I watched it with intensity, trying desperately not to think about anything other than Romeo and Juliet.

Of course, I couldn't keep it together the closer it got to the end of the movie. Tears began to slide down my cheeks well before the climactic ending. I sniffed without thinking and gave myself away. My body tensed as I felt his hand running through my hair soothingly.

"It's about time," I heard Luke say under his breath.

"No joke, I've been wondering when he would get up the nerve," Wren whispered in reply, too softly for Owen to hear.

Apparently, everyone saw this coming, and apparently this night changed things. I continued to cry as the final scene drew closer, but I couldn't figure out if my tears were for the movie or for the boy who left me here to be happy.


	12. Chapter 12

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

I groaned and rolled over to see my whole family standing around my bed, singing to me. It took me a moment to register it all, I was still in a haze from the night before. Had it all really happened? Owen and I on the couch, him driving me home, hugging me tighter and longer than he normally did as he walked me to the door, was I dreaming it? No, I was 90% certain that it was real.

"Jake, are you okay?" I asked him sleepily, suddenly remembering his stomachache from the night before.

He grinned, "Yeah, I'm fine. Too much pizza I guess."

I rolled my eyes, Jake could never get enough food, so I didn't believe that for a second. My mind finally wandered away from last night onto today. My 8th birthday. Only my family knew that this was my real birthday, all of my documents listed my birthday as March 10th. That's when I would be turning 15.

"Are you ready for presents?!" Aunt Alice jumped up and down so fast she was blur.

"Already?" I said glancing at the clock, "It's only 8am! On a Saturday!!!"

"We're leaving for Forks at Noon, Nessie. Charlie is expecting us." Aunt Rose explained.

That's right! We were spending the weekend in Forks! I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs into the living room where piles and piles of wrapped gifts sat waiting to be opened.

"Half of these are for Mom, right?"

"They better not be," she grumbled, "You all know how I feel about birthdays."

"We aren't celebrating your 27th birthday, Bella. Besides, that's not for another 3 days. We're celebrating your 8th vampire birthday! You can't object to that!" Aunt Alice pouted.

Mom sighed and sat next to me. We spent the next hour tearing open package after package. Everyone really went overboard, as always. I got a whole new wardrobe from Aunt Alice and Aunt Rose, a new state of the art sound system for my room from Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmett, several extremely valuable first edition volumes for my growing personal library courtesy of Grandpa Carlisle, and an amazing painting from Grandma Esme. I stared at it for several moments before it struck me.

"Oh! This is in our garden!" I looked at it closer. It was a perfect rendering of my favorite spot, my Eden. The place where I used to lay alone and read, and where I now often sat with Owen. I ran across the room to hug Grandma Esme tightly, "I love it, thank you so much."

I went back to my seat to open my second to last gift, from my father and mother. I gasped when I opened the tiny box.

"Mom, this is yours...Why are you..?" I held the glittering diamond heart up to the light.

"It was my mothers," Dad started, "we thought it was time you had it."

My mother smiled kindly at my confusion, "I've intended on giving this to you for a long time. You're old enough now to appreciate and take care of it. When you look at it, just remember that your family loves you, that you're our heart."

"I...I don't have anything to wear it on," I stammered. Jake handed me his small box with a grin.

"Oh Jake! Its perfect, it looks just like Mom's!" I pulled the silver bracelet out of the box and looked at the reddish wolf carving that hung from it. Then, for a moment, I hesitated remembering the last bracelet he had given me. The one woven of leather that sat in a jewelry box upstairs, the 'promise' bracelet. My father nudged me softly and shook his head so slightly that no one else would notice. I relaxed, it must not mean anything so serious.

"Thank you Jacob, I love it. Help me put it on?" He attached the heart from my parents and then latched the bracelet securely around my wrist.

A few hours later I was giddy in the backseat of my fathers car. We were slowing down as we drove into the Forks city limits. Our last visit had been right before school started, a little over a month ago, but it felt like ages to me. My family had lived in Forks longer than anywhere else they had ever settled, and should have moved on shortly after I was born. But everyone knew leaving would hurt Charlie, and me, so we stayed much longer than was admissible.

Mom, Dad, Jake and I drove straight to Grandpa Charlie's, while the others went to the house to make sure everything was in order for our weekend visit. Dad honked the horn loudly as we pulled up in the driveway.

"There's my almost birthday girl!" Grandpa Charlie bellowed as he hurried down the front steps and gave Mom a huge hug. "27! You're making me feel so old, Bells. But you don't look a day over 18!"

Jake laughed and then turned it into a cough as my dad elbowed him in the ribs. Grandpa Charlie knew more than he let on, but pretended well, to save his sanity, I assumed. He didn't know that today was my birthday, we tried to give him the public story as much as possible. This visit was so he could see Mom for _her_ birthday.

"Hey Kiddo!" he said, hugging me next and then greeting Dad and Jacob with slaps on the back. We went inside the small house, and I immediately ran up to my mothers room to retrieve her old photo albums. I never got tired of looking at these pictures of my parents when they were still dating, my mother still human. Anyone who saw me, and had known her back then, would know that she and I were in some way related.

I laughed at a picture of her tripping on a curb and my father holding her arm to keep her from falling. Their prom picture was just as amusing, Dad looking like a movie star, Mom all flushed and wearing a huge cast on her leg. There were a few in here of Jake, before his werewolf days. He looked so young and happy, I wish I could have known him then. I flipped through a few pictures of a trip my parents had taken to Florida, stopping to look closely at Renee. My mother had visited her a few times, when Aunt Alice had predicted a rare rainy weekend there. She knew a little bit about me, but not much, and I had never met her. I knew that made my mother sad, but she didn't want to expose anyone else she loved to a world that could be so dangerous.

I heard Jake talking to Charlie in the kitchen, "I hope you don't mind too much, Charlie, but Nessie and I are going to head down to La Push for the evening. She wanted to see everyone while we were here. We'll be around all day tomorrow though, for Bella's big birthday celebration."

My mother glared and him and growled softly.

"You ready to go, Ness?" he asked as I skipped into the room.

"Sure! I can't wait to see Billy, lets go!"

My father tossed the keys to the Volvo at Jake and told us to have a good time, with a look on his face that I couldn't quite place. Slightly amused, but with a hint of sadness. Hum, odd.

As we sped into La Push, Jake looked sideways at me as he drove.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

He exhaled with a huff, "Just about how fast you've grown up. I remember this day eight years ago so clearly. I thought it would be the worst in life, I never would have guessed that it would be one of my best."

"Ha, you made a rhyme!" I laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"So grown up..and yet sometimes the 8 year old in you breaks through!" he teased back as we pulled into the driveway of his old house. I had expected to see people when we pulled up, or at least a few cars, but the place looked deserted. We got out and Jake began walking toward the big old shed where he and my mother used to hangout.

"Why aren't we going to the house?"

"There is something in here I want to show you first."

Just then I heard soft whispers and ruffling sounds coming from inside the prefab building. There were people in there. Why? A light bulb clicked on in my head and I laughed out loud. "You were going to try and surprise me Jake? Really?"

From inside I heard Quil yell at Seth, "Man I TOLD you not to move! She hears as well as we do, I KNEW she'd hear that!!!"

I had to bend over and hold my sides I was laughing so hard. I missed the wolves so much, and this was the reason. Nobody could make me laugh like they did. Jacob swung open the large doors to reveal my surprise. The large space looked totally different from the last time I was here, all the tools and spare parts had been moved out, the floors were swept and streamers and balloons were tied to the edges of a long table that held enough food for a small army. A large banner was hung on the back wall that said "Happy 8th Birthday, Nessie!"

All the wolves were there, from both packs, with their imprints in tow. Billy and Sue Clearwater were also in attendance. There was a new face among the crowd, Embry had imprinted since we'd moved. Her name was Liz and I'd heard all about from Jacob and was excited to meet her finally. I couldn't help but grin hugely at the gathering of all my friends. I saw Liz grimace and move slightly back at the sight of my full grin, everyone else here was used to my vampire qualities, but I could see how it might make her a bit apprehensive.

Billy rolled forward in his chair to greet me, "Hey there, Nessie. Happy birthday! We sure have missed you around here."

"I've missed you all too! So _so_ much," I gushed as I ran forward to give him a hug. I went around the room giving hugs and hellos to everyone there. When I reached Embry he proudly introduced me to Liz.

"Hi, Liz. It's so nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you." I walked forward to give her hug without thinking. I felt her tense up at our embrace. Oops, I should have known she would be uncomfortable.

After I moved a few steps back she turned to Embry, "She's not cold at all!"

He and I started laughing and she just looked confused. "Should I explain or would you like to?" I asked him.

"I've tried, but I obviously haven't done a very good job, so go ahead," he told me.

"I'm only half vampire, though both my parents are now. I'm genetically a lot like the wolves, so they think that's why I'm warmer than normal."

"Oh, well...uhh. Okay," she said, clearly still totally confused and slightly frightened.

I wasn't at all offended by her reaction, I'm sure she had heard a lot of negative things about my kind. Hopefully, once she'd spent a little time around me, she'd see that I wasn't the scary monster that appeared in the Quileute legends.

I made my way over to the corner where Leah stood, we had always gotten along well when I lived in Forks. She had been unusually quiet today, so I went to see how she'd been doing in the month since I'd last seen her. But before I could open my mouth to ask, she spoke.

"So, I hear you've made some new friends."

The bitter tone in her voice told me all I needed to know. I should have been expecting this! Of course she has heard some of Jacobs thoughts over the last month.

"Oh Leah, I'm so sorry. But you've known. You've known for years that I only see Jake as a brother and a friend. It's tearing me up to hurt him this way, I know you know that."

"I know."

"Does Billy know anything?" I asked, afraid of her reply. I loved Billy, he was family, and if I hurt him too I wouldn't be able to stand it.

She looked at me with no emotion on her face, "I don't think so. Jake wouldn't want Billy to worry about him, or dislike you."

That stung. "And what about you, Leah? Do you dislike me?"

Her expression softened a very little bit, "No, Ness. I don't dislike you. I just hurt for Jake. He loves you too much for me to be too upset with you."

If not for the jubilant mood of everyone around me, this conversation would have brought me down considerably. I spent the rest of the evening catching up with my old friends and generally having a wonderful time, despite the guilty feeling for hurting their brother. I took an obligatory bite of cake, much to the amusement of those around me and the proceeded to be showered with even more gifts. I was truly the most spoiled person alive, or the most spoiled vampire in existence...either sentiment worked just fine.

Most of the gifts were made and reflected the giver, I loved them just as much, if not more, than the expensive gifts I'd received at home this morning. I got to the last box and looked at the tag. 'To: Nessie, From: Billy, Rachel and Jake'

"Jake! You already got me something! You shouldn't have done anything more."

"Chill out, its mostly from my Dad and Rach, but they insisted I put my name on it. It's kinda a family thing."

That piqued my curiosity. I opened the heavy package and wasn't sure what I was looking at. It was a cedar box, with a rough wolf scratched onto the lid. I opened it and inside was a delicate copper hair barrette, in the shape of graceful whale.

"They were my mother's," Rachel said quietly, "she made the box herself when she was a child, and she wore the barrette in her hair when she married Dad."

I was speechless. I could see tears in Billy's eyes and it sent me over the edge, "Thank you so much," I blubbered as huge tears rolled down my cheek. Jacob came and wiped them away and whispered in my ear.

"They wanted you to have them, to have something to know my mother by. It's not meant for our wedding or anything, so don't worry about that."

I touched my hand to his cheek and let him see what I had been thinking when his sister spoke. It wasn't worry about the meaning of the gift, it was total happiness and love for the people who had become my family over the years.

We were in the old shed well into the morning. Billy and Sue left hours before, but the rest of us, the young ones, stayed behind talking and laughing. I was starting to get tired, my eyelids drooping slowly shut as Sam told funny stories from when the two packs were all one. I fought to keep them open, not wanting the night to end, but of course Jacob noticed.

"Time to get the birthday girl home," he said as he scooped me up.

"Bye guys," I yawned, "Thanks..everything. Best birthday..."

The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was their laughter as Jake carried me out to the Volvo.


	13. Chapter 13

The rest of our weekend in Forks flew by, and before I knew it we were in the car headed back home. It's amazing how many places felt like home to me; our house and Grandpa Charlie's in Forks, Jacob's old place in La Push, and in the past few weeks our new house had begun to feel like a home, too. My dad smiled at the rear view mirror in response to my thoughts.

"What time will we be back? I was planning on going to Wren's to do some homework."

"We'll be there in about 15 minutes," he replied, "would you like me to drop you off on our way?"

"That'd be great! Thanks!" I pulled out my tiny blue cell phone and dialed the number programed under WREN, "Hey girl! Is it okay if my brother drops me off to work on homework?"

"Um.." she said quietly on the other end of the line, "would you mind if I came to your house instead? My Grandma is here for a surprise visit, and I'd rather get away, if you don't mind."

I knew I couldn't keep my friends away from my house forever. "Sure, we'll be there in about 5 minutes."

I groaned after I hung up. Jake laughed and Mom looked at me sympathetically.

"Behave," I hissed at him as we pulled into the driveway and Wren ran down the front steps.

"Hey guys!" she said as she slid into the car. It was a tight fit, Jacob could take up the whole back seat himself, so Wren ended up half on his lap. They both looked so uncomfortable, and my father could hardly contain his laughter, so I guessed that their thoughts were just as awkward.

I braced for the reaction to our house as we began down the winding drive, but nothing came. No gasping or bugging eyes, no incoherent questions...I couldn't figure it out. People knew we were wealthy, but our palatial home would have come as a shock to most of them. Only one person outside of my family had been here. Had he talked about me to Wren? I glanced at Dad for conformation and he nodded. Interesting.

Everyone else was already there and scattered around the house. I introduced Wren to those she hadn't met yet and then took her up to my room and shut the door.

"Okay, spill. Owen must have said something to you about the house."

"No, why would you think that?" she replied too innocently as she turned to look at the pictures on my walls.

"Oh come on Wren! Please tell me what he's said to you! I'm dying for information here!" That wasn't exactly true, my father had told me plenty. But what was he telling our friends? That might mean significantly more.

"Well...he didn't _specifically_ tell me not to say anything..."

"See! It's fine then, and I promise I won't tell him you said anything!" I told her as I kicked my shoes off and bounced onto my unmade bed.

She fed off my excitement and came to sit next to me, "Okay," she started, using her hands to gesture wildly as she talked, "so he was asking me all kinds of questions about you and mentioned spending time over here. I was surprised because, well...you never seem to want to hangout here. He told me that you seemed uncomfortable about the size and everything, so that's probably why we'd never been invited. That's why I played it so cool when we drove up. But good lord, Nessie, this place _is_ amazing!"

I laughed, at this point I couldn't care less about the stupid house. Owen had been asking questions about me! "Okay, on to the good stuff. What was he asking you?"

"Well, he wanted to know if you'd said anything to me about him. He looked really disappointed when I said no, but perked right back up when I told him that it was pretty obvious to all of us that you like him. You do don't you?"

"Uh yeah...I don't see how he missed that one. And I know he likes me, but I'm just not sure how much."

"A lot!" she beamed at me. A new trait of Wrens' was starting to show itself, she loved playing the matchmaker. "I mean, I figured that after he took you home Friday night, the next time we talked, you two would be a couple."

"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed at her, "we've never been on a date or even held hands! You are getting way _way_ ahead of yourself."

"I don't know...he said that he wanted to ask you to the hospital benefit next month..that seems pretty couple-y to me."

My totally blank stare prompted her to continue, "The benefit? You know..the big formal dinner and dance fundraiser the hospital has every Halloween. I figured you'd know about it, your uncle is a doctor there!"

I _had_ heard Grandpa Carlisle say something about it, but I figured it was something that he and Grandma Esme wanted to attend alone.

"Why would Owen be going?" I asked her.

"His dad is donating a sculpture for the silent auction."

That made sense, I guess. "When is he going to ask me?"

"I think he was planning on doing it tomorrow actually. It's a costume thing, I think, so he wanted to ask you before you got one together with your family. He assumed that you would all be going."

A costume party, that could be fun! I wouldn't even mind if my family was there, a costume party on Halloween was about the only time we _wouldn't_ stand out. I made a mental note to ask Grandpa Carlisle about it later.

Wren continued filling me in on her conversation with Owen, "He also wanted to know about you and Jake. I had no idea what to tell him about _that_! You've told us all, repeatedly, that you are just friends, but the way he looks at you sometimes makes me think that he wishes it was more."

She paused, waiting for me to confirm or deny her astute observation. I had to answer this very carefully. I didn't want to lie and tell her 'Oh goodness, no! It's strictly platonic!', she'd see right through that. But the truth wouldn't work for obvious reasons.

"He and I have a very...complicated...relationship. He would like it to be more than friendship, but I don't want that and he knows it. We really are just best friends. Do you think it bothers Owen that I'm so close to Jacob?"

"Nah," she said lightly, "Owen is a pretty cool guy, I don't think he stresses about who you are or aren't friends with."

We lounged on the bed and talked for the next several hours, totally forgetting the pile of homework that sat undone on my desk. It took me by surprise when my mom knocked on the door and reminded us that Wrens curfew was only ten minutes from now.

"Edward is out front waiting to take you, why don't you go with her, Nessie?"

We ran downstairs and jumped into the waiting Volvo.

"Thanks for driving me home, Edward! My mom won't be happy that we didn't get any homework done, but oh well, we can do it at lunch tomorrow!"

"Sure, good idea." I glanced at my father out of the corner of my eye, his lips were pursed and he looked irritated. All because of a little late homework assignment? We sat in silence for a couple minutes, then he surprised me by bursting out laughing.

Luckily, we were in Wren's driveway before she could start to think he was too crazy.

"Bye, see you guys tomorrow!" she shouted as she ran up her front steps at 9:56, 4 minutes ahead of her school night curfew. Dad made it here in record time, I can't believe she hadn't noticed the speed.

"DAD! What was that about?!" I said as we pulled away.

He started laughing again, "Wren...Jacob....Rory..." He could hardly contain himself, I'd rarely seen him so tickled. I growled a little bit and he started talking in coherent sentences again.

"After you told her about Jake liking you as more than a friend, she decided to take it upon herself to find someone else for him. She thought about herself for a moment, but decided she didn't like him that way either. But Rory...she _has_ expressed interest, I've heard it in her head. Wren is very observant to pick it up."

"Oh no! She going to try and set up Rory and _Jake_?!" I shrieked.

"Does that _bother_ you, Ness? The idea of Jake with someone else?"

I thought for a second. Did it bother me? No, not for the reason my dad was implying. I was bothered because I knew this would hurt Rory. She was so kind, and Jake would never reciprocate her feelings. I doubted she ever would have made a move, but now that Wren was involved...

Dad nodded, "I'm concerned about that too. I only laughed because Jacobs reaction will be priceless." A Cheshire cat grin consumed his face.

"Should we warn him?"

"No, not yet. Her thoughts are still very chaotic. She might not do anything about it at all. If she makes her mind up, I'll tell him."

I got out of the car and set off to find Grandpa Carlisle, wanting to talk about this hospital dance business before I went to bed.

"He's in his study." Dad said as I walked away.

I went up the stairs and to the familiar room knocking softly on the door, "Grandpa? May I come in?"

"Of course," his soothing voice said softly.

I breathed in deeply through my nose when I swung the door open, the smell of this room was one of my favorite things in the world. It was like the smell of a library, only more intense because the books were older and packed tighter together.

"What's on your mind tonight, Nessie?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you about the Halloween party for the hospital."

He looked a little confused, "What about it?"

"Owens dad is donating one of his pieces for the auction, so his whole family is going, and I think Owen is planning on asking me. I heard you and Grandma talking about it, and I didn't want to butt in on some big evening out of yours or anything."

His lips turned up into a kind smile, "Of course we wouldn't mind if you came! Its an obligation for me to go at all, or I wouldn't. I usually ask the rest of the family if they want to come to these sorts of things, but Alice is the only one who ever gets excited. I figured I'd spare the rest of them from having to dress up in formal attire."

I heard a loud crash come from downstairs and Grandpa Carlisle rolled his eyes, "I thought she was still out hunting with Jasper. I hope you don't mind the rest of the family coming to the party, because now that Alice knows, there is no way around it."

At that moment Aunt Alice burst through the door looking wild and half crazed. "You've been holding out on me Carlisle Cullen! A formal party and only a month to plan the wardrobe for the _whole family_!!! How did I not see this? I never miss parties!"

"Esme and I have known you long enough to know how to work around your talent when it is convenient."

Alice hissed her discontent, but quickly recovered. "When is this little shindig? And what is the appropriate attire?" she asked coolly.

"It's on Halloween. It's black tie, and most people come in some kind of costume. Like a masquerade ball, I suppose. I've seen a few pictures from last year and people go all out, so this should be right up your ally. Here is the invitation."

He handed her a black square of heavy cardstock, with silver lettering engraved into it.

**Pacific Regional Hospital**

**Cordially Invites you to their**

**24th Annual Halloween Benefit Auction**

**for dinner and dancing**

**in the Grand Ballroom at the Regency Hotel**

**the 31st of October at 7:30pm**

**Formal attire, costumes optional**

"Thanks Carlisle!" Aunt Alice said, dashing out of the room with the invitation gripped tightly in her hand.

He shook his head and looked back at me, "I hope our presence there isn't going to upset you. We'll behave, I can promise you that."

"I don't mind at all. I'm actually very eager to see what Aunt Alice comes up with."

"As am I," he laughed.

Alice hardly talked at all the next day in class, she was bent over a sketch pad and looking up designer websites on her phone all hour. I looked over her shoulder in science and saw Owen's name at the top of one of her drawings.

"Alice, why are you making a costume for Owen?"

"I see him there with you..or you with him actually. You're sitting at his table."

"So Jake must not be going then?"

"I guess not."

Alice could see my future, but it was generally so tangled up with Jake that she only got mundane things, nothing major or definite. If she could see me clearly at the event, then Jake wasn't there.

"You don't have to do that Alice, we'll plan our own costumes."

"Ha! You would never deprive me of my fun!"

I sighed, "You're right...can I at least see what you have in mind?"

"No way! A week or two before we'll do a fitting and you'll find out then, just like everyone else."

Two hours later, lunch was uneventful, like I was expecting. Owen wouldn't ask me in front of all our friends. My nerves started getting the better of me the closer I got to 7th hour. I was going to get asked out on my first date....hopefully.

I wasn't disappointed. As soon as I sat down in my seat, he turned around in his chair to face me. I felt the blush coloring my face.

"So, you've heard about the hospital benefit right?"

I only nodded. Speaking was beyond my ability at the moment.

"Well, my family is going and I was wondering if you would like to go with me. I know that your whole family is probably going, so if you'd rather go with them that's fine. I just thought it might be fun, somebody cool to sit with at dinner. Not that your family isn't cool...I was talking about mine. But they're cool too, I think you'll like them." He took a deep breath when he'd finished.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped from my lips. He was more nervous than me! I'd never heard Owen babble, he was usually so composed. I must have hurt his pride with my laughter, he looked away quickly and started shuffling papers on his desk. I grabbed his arm and turned him back to face me, keeping my hand there as I spoke.

"I would love to go with you Owen. I can't wait."

I looked into his eyes when I said this, taking in the emerald green that they were today. I think I liked them best when they were this color. They lit up as he registered that I was saying yes to his question.

"One thing though," I added, "we have to let Alice do our costumes."

"If that's the only condition for getting to spend a whole night dancing with you, then it's worth it!"

If I thought I had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to the red covering my face now. I would get to dance with Owen, and the fact that my family would be there only slightly dampened my enthusiasm. "You dance?" I asked. I loved to dance, and had been taught by Aunt Rose and my father, the two best dancers I had ever seen.

"Not well, but my mom used to take ballroom lessons, and I was her practice buddy most of the time. I picked up enough to fumble my way through. I might need a refresher course before the big event though. Do you dance?"

I started to answer, but he interrupted me, "What am I saying? Of course you dance! How could you not? You do everything else."

I laughed, "You think far too much of me, but it just so happens that I can hold my own on the dance floor."

"See, I knew it. I think I'm starting to get you figured out." He grinned, and the oddest sensation came over me. I felt like I _wanted_ him to figure me out.


	14. Chapter 14

Why does time go by so slowly when you want it to fly? It had been 3 weeks since Owen had asked me to go to the Halloween party with him, and I still had a whole month to wait. Things were much the same as they had been before he asked. We spent the afternoons either hanging out at Wren's house or in the gardens at mine. He was coming over this afternoon, and it was the first day that it would be too cold for us to go outside.

I jumped up and ran to the door as soon as I heard the familiar hum of his car on our driveway. I leaned against the open door frame as I waited for him.

"You look nice," he said as we walked into the house.

I looked down at the perfectly ordinary navy sweater and jeans, "I was wearing this all day at school."

"I know, and I meant to tell you then, but I got distracted," he brushed a piece of hair out of my face, "so I'm telling you now instead."

For a split second I felt like I was going to faint. Where was his forwardness coming from? I didn't really care, he could touch my hair all he wanted. I got a hold on my pounding heart and led him into the living room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he said to Emmett, Jasper and Jake.

"Thank God!" Emmett yelled pulling out another video game controller from under the TV, "They're ganging up on me! Come be on my team!"

"Go ahead," I told him when he looked at me eagerly, "I'll do my Spanish homework while you play."

I sat on the couch only half paying attention to the sentence structure worksheet spread out across my lap, I could have done it in my sleep. Watching the boys stealing cars and shooting at each other from behind buildings was much more entertaining, and seeing how totally Owen fit in with my family thrilled me.

Alice danced in through the back door, "Family meeting in the living room!" she called. "Boys, put down your game." Jasper complied immediately, but the rest of them grumbled and stalled until everyone else was seated around the room.

"What's this about, Alice?" My mother asked.

"Well, I finished the sketches of your costumes for the party, and I wanted to run my ideas by you before I started having them made. They're period costumes, from the time some of you were...interested in..."

Oh, I saw where she was going with this, as did everyone else. Owen looked a little confused. She pulled out her notebook and started flipping the pages.

"I have them all designed for couples, Renaissance for Carlisle and Esme, Edwardian for Edward and Bella, the 30's for Em and Rose."

"Alice, I'm wearing my tux, no tights or anything else period related." Grandpa Carlisle told her politely.

"Don't worry, I'm going to modernize it. You'll just have to wear a mask and a vest to match Esme's dress." She held up a picture of a beautiful purple and gold gown that wouldn't have looked out of place on today's red carpets, but had a decidedly old world flair about it.

"That's lovely, Alice," Grandma Esme said.

Alice smiled and turned to my mother and father, "As for you two, I chose characters from that period, just to make it more fun."

"Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins! How wonderful!" my mother exclaimed as she looked the drawings that were near perfect copies from the movie, with a little bit of Alice embellishment here and there.

She looked at Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett next, but before she could show them what she'd created for them to wear, Emmett said, "I don't want to wear anything from the 30's! That was not a fun fashion period in my opinion. I know what I want to go as!" he paused dramatically while we all waited for him to continue, "A vampire!"

Jake laughed loudly giving Emmett a high five, everyone else just sighed.

"Emmett Cullen! I don't _think_ so." Aunt Rose said indignantly.

"Oh come on Rose! It'd be fun, we could get capes and fangs and all that good stuff. Please, pretty please!"

"Absolutely not, NO WAY."

Alice broke into their argument, "I dunno, Rose. As weird as it is, I could make it look cute. And you know Em, he's not going to back down on this, I can tell."

"I bet I could make him," Aunt Rose said, eying Uncle Emmett seductively.

"Oh PLEASE Rose! We have company!" I yelled at her, "Can we just drop this for now?"

Aunt Rose still looked irritated, but let the subject be closed as Alice turned to Owen and I. "I didn't pick a specific time period for you, so I chose one of your favorite movie couples instead."

I had so many that I couldn't pin point which one she was talking about. It would have to be one where there was a scene at a ball of some sort, for her to model the costumes after. That only narrowed it down slightly. After I pondered for a few moments she rolled her eyes.

"I thought you'd get it right away, we just watched the movie a few weeks ago! That's where I got the idea!"

"Gigi?!" I guessed.

"Mmmhum, Owen can still wear a tux, and the white off the shoulder number she wears towards the end is divine. It's perfect!"

I had to admit, I did love that dress and Gigi was one of my favorite movie characters. "Thanks Alice! I think that'll be great! Have you ever seen the movie, Owen?"

"Of course, I've told you my mother is very into musicals. I think I've seen them all. I'm okay with being Gaston, though he is a little whiny," he smiled.

"What are you and Jasper going to be?" Aunt Rose asked.

"Well, I haven't totally made up my mind yet. I keep seeing myself as either a Southern Belle or a flapper. I might have both costumes made up, and just see what I feel like the night of the dance."

"And for Jake?" Grandma Esme said.

"I'm not going," he told her quietly, "you know this isn't exactly my thing."

She smiled at him and nodded softly, "I understand."

No, I would _not_ feel guilty. I was too happy, and that's what Jake had asked me to do, be happy. It was easier said than done, though. I knew why he wasn't going to the party, it would have been too hard for him to watch me be with someone else. I turned to Owen before I could let my thoughts get the better of me, "So what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?"

"Well, I was actually thinking that we might go over to my house for a bit."

"Really?" I eyed him speculatively, we'd never talked about going to his house again after that first day of deciding where to do homework.

"Sure, I figured that you'd like to meet my parents before the party. And they're both actually home and not busy tonight."

"Then lets go!" I said enthusiastically.

Owen's house was not far from the school, in a quiet neighborhood with good sized homes situated on huge lots. Many of them had small barns or extra garages in the back and all were surrounded by the same 4 foot natural wooden fencing.

When we turned into a brick driveway, my nerves suddenly began to show themselves. If I had come here a few weeks ago to meet his parents, it would have been different. We were just friends then. Now it seemed to have more significance, I was the girl he was taking to a dance. The girl he liked and who liked him back.

The house was partially obscured by large evergreen trees, but I could tell that it was much more modern than the other houses that lined the street. It had a flat roof that sloped in odd angles and sections that jutted out with huge glass walls. Even in all its modernness, it seemed to blend in perfectly to its surroundings. I noticed a tall building almost totally made of glass off to one side, I guessed that this must be the art studio his father worked in.

I took 3 deep breaths as I got out of the car and walked to the door with Owen. "Don't be nervous," he told me, "they've been dying to meet you."

I smiled and walked over the threshold. The inside matched the outside perfectly. Everything was open and you almost felt like you were still outside. The furniture was very minimal and natural looking. Art of every style was all over, blending in seamlessly. Grandma Esme would be in heaven here.

"Oooo, you brought your girlfriend home! _Finally_!"

I turned around and saw a girl, who looked to be about 11 or 12, standing there staring at me. It was immediately obvious that she was Owens sister, they looked so much alike. She had the same curly hair and greenish eyes.

Owen just rolled his eyes and introduced us, "Nessie, this is my little sister, Amanda."

"Hi Amanda!" I said brightly. I had a feeling that if I was not in her good graces, my life would be much harder. She looked fiercely protective of her brother, and slightly mischievous, a potentially troublesome combo.

She looked me up and down with a judgmental eye, "You _are_ pretty," she said matter of factly.

"Um, thanks?" How was this teenybopper making me so nervous? If his parents were anywhere near this bad I think I'd rather just melt into the floor. Those thoughts fled my mind as his mother walked into the room and scolded Amanda.

"Don't make our guest so uncomfortable, Amanda. We don't want her to run away screaming just yet!" I felt instantly at ease in her presence, just like everything else in the home, she blended in perfectly. Her hair was dark and thick, pulled into a messy bun on the back of her neck. She wore no makeup on her perfect skin, made even better by the laugh lines that creased next to her eyes (green, like her children) and the corner of her upturned mouth. She exuded a motherly vibe.

"I'm Karen," she said warmly, "it's so good to finally meet you, Nessie"

"It's nice to meet you too. I just love your home, all the art is amazing."

"Thank you, I hear you have your fair share of amazing art in your place. Most of ours was picked up on our travels or done by John, Owen's father." She turned to Owen, "He's out in the studio if you'd like to take Nessie out to meet him."

"Sure, you wanna check out the studio, Ness?"

I nodded enthusiastically and he led me out the back door and to the glass building. When we got inside, it took my breath away. I had been surrounded by creativity my whole life, but this was art on a huge scale like I'd never seen before. A life sized copper buffalo stood in the middle of the room, and several smaller granite pieces sat half done around the outer perimeter. There were also pieces made of concrete and a few that looked like polished marble. Some were abstract, others were more classical, but they were all beautiful. Even more numerous were the paintings that hung on the one wall that wasn't window. Owen told me that painting was just his fathers hobby, while the sculpting was his passion.

"This is amazing," I gushed to Owen.

He just laughed as a tall man walked out of one of the back rooms, "Thank you," he said in a slightly southern accent. "you must be Nessie."

"Yes, sir. And you must be Mr. Ross."

"Just John, please. None of that Mr. and Mrs. stuff around here," he said with a lopsided smile.

I smiled back, trying to see any resemblance between him and his son. I found nothing other than the height. John had straight hair that was light brown and streaked though with gray, pulled back into a ponytail, his eyes were pale blue and wise. I could see now why Owen called his parents old hippies, his father definitely fit the part. He could have walked right out of the 60's, with his long hair and paint splattered clothes.

"Your work is beautiful, you do so many styles well."

"That is quite a compliment coming from you. Owen tells me that your family has an extensive collection."

I blushed, "It's really my Aunt and Uncle, they are the ones with an eye for paintings."

We talked art for quite awhile, as John took us around the studio telling me about the various pieces he was working on. It was one of the most fun afternoons I'd spent, and not just due to Owen being there with me, I really enjoyed getting to know his father.

When the clouds started darkening outside, I knew that I should probably get home. I needed to go hunt before I went to bed. I said goodbye to his family, promising to come back soon, and went out to the car. I loved car rides with Owen, they were the only time that I felt like we were truly alone.

"Your family is great," I told him.

"They think you're pretty great too. I could tell they were impressed."

I blushed, thankful that he couldn't tell in the dark.

"I hope your family likes me," he continued.

"How could you think that they don't at this point? You're over all the time and they haven't tossed you out yet!"

He laughed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Its just that I sometimes get a strange feeling that I'm missing something when you are all talking to each other."

I gave a short nervous laugh in response, "No...they like you a lot, trust me." I should have known that he'd notice something was not quite normal eventually.

When we got to the house he walked me up to the door.

"I'm glad you had fun today, I hope you'll come back soon."

"I'll be there as often as you want me to be," I told him honestly.

"You'd have to move in to be there as much as I want you to be."

I felt a faint feeling for the second time that day. He was moving toward me in what felt like slow motion, was he about to kiss me?

A fraction of a second later, the front door was wrenched open and my father was standing there. "Oh, I didn't realize that you were out here, Nessie," he lied. Owen had jumped back nearly 5 feet as soon as the door opened, and was standing there like a deer caught in head lights.

"Uh, hey Edward. I was just dropping Nessie off."

"Thanks," Dad replied curtly, "We'll see you at school tomorrow then. Goodbye Owen."

He yanked me into the house and shut the door before I could say goodbye myself.

**NOTE:** I can't decide what Alice and Jasper should wear to the Halloween benefit, so you guys get to pick! Antebellum Southern? or 1920's flapper?


	15. Chapter 15

I was seething. Positively _Seething_. What on earth had possessed my father to be so overbearing and rude? In between shouting profanities at him in my mind, I was thinking about how I could explain the sudden hostility to Owen. If he didn't start avoiding me entirely to keep away from the wrath of my psychotic 'brother'.

Dad waited until he heard Owens car pulling away before he spoke, his voiced raised, "Renesmee Cullen! Where did you learn such language!?"

I shouted back, "Don't you try and reprimand me right now, not after what you just did!" Wow, I was being brave, I never talked back to my father. But, then again, he'd never really done anything that would make me need to.

"What is going on in here?" My mother said as she rushed into the entry way. "I was out back walking with Esme when I heard you shouting. Is something wrong?"

I ran to her and touched her face, replaying the events of the last few minutes. She almost giggled, but when she sensed the embarrassment and anger in me she set her face back into a look of concern. "Edward, love. Was that really necessary? We like Owen, remember?"

"He was about to kiss her!! I heard them both think it! What was I supposed to do?"

"Well, I don't exactly know. But you could have done something that wouldn't have embarrassed her so badly, or frightened him."

The conversation between my parents was definitely _not_ calming me down, if anything it was making me even more angry. How dare they stand right in front of me and discuss _my_ life like I had no say? "I'll tell you what you could have done. You could have done NOTHING! I am a big girl and I can decide if I want to be kissed by someone or not. And if I didn't, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself!"

Aunt Alice skipped down the stairs lightly, "Don't worry, Nessie. He'll try again." She had a delighted smile on her face and her eyes were lit up with excitement. My dad suddenly staggered slightly and went to sit on the bottom step with his head in his hands. What was going on?

"Why, Alice?" he asked softly. My mother and I gazed at them, confused, while Alice silently explained. His expression became pained, but the look of excitement never left Aunt Alice. My mother hated it when they did this, so it didn't take long for her to speak up, "Stop that you two. Tell us what's happening."

"It's Nessie, I can see her. See her clearly! I've never been able to see her like this before, it started this afternoon and it was like flood gates opening."

Well, this was interesting. Alice had a hard time seeing me for several reasons, my being half vampire/half human and the entanglement of Jake in my life. Over time, it became easier for her, if she tried very hard. Jake couldn't be in the way of course, and that's why she only got very basic things, because he was always in the way.

My mother looked horror struck and I didn't understand why until she gripped the banister tightly and began to stutter, "B-but...Jake? Why? Is something going to...happen...to him?"

Panic washed over me as I listened to my mother. If Alice could see me, where was Jake in the future? Was he going to....I began to hyperventilate before I could even think the word.

"Bella! Nessie! No, no, no my loves. Nothing is going to happen to Jake. I'm worried about how he'll take this of course, but I don't think he'll do anything drastic," my father assured us. "From what I can tell, there are still moments where he gets in the way of Alice's vision, its just much more infrequent than it is now."

"But why?" my mother asked, regaining her composure.

Aunt Alice answered, "Well, I think that she's made a decision that takes her life in a different direction than it's been going. She must have decided that she wouldn't end up with Jake after all."

Hadn't I always known that I wouldn't end up with him? I sat for a moment and pondered what had happened today, and how it could have changed my future so drastically. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in love with Owen. A strange feeling had been swimming around inside of me all afternoon, and I was finally able to put a name to it. Love.

"You think you're _in love_?" my father asked, his eyes wide with shock.

Warmth and contentment spread through me as I silently answered his question. Yes, I loved Owen. I nearly laughed out loud, I felt so light all of the sudden. My parents both looked stunned and slightly ill, not an easy feat for a vampire. My father could hear the happiness in my thoughts, but my mother couldn't, so I reached up to touch her face again. I showed her all of the things that I loved about him; his kindness and calming nature, the quiet intelligence that made him seem much older than his 16 years, his patience, the way he loved his family, his fierce loyalty to his friends.

When I dropped my hand, she smiled a sad looking smile. "He does have many wonderful qualities worth loving, sweetie. I of all people know that you can't help who you fall in love with. But you have to cut your father and I some slack, you are so young and this isn't at all the path we thought your life would follow. Just give us some time to adjust and we will be happy for you eventually."

That was fair. I'm sure this was a bit shocking, and I didn't even really care that they weren't happy for me yet. I was happy enough for everyone in the entire house. Unfortunately, what my mother said next was the only thing that could pull the good feelings right out of me.

"Where's Jake? We need to figure out how to tell him."

"He's hunting," Aunt Alice said, "He told Jasper that he was going pretty far out and wouldn't be home until late."

"Mom, you aren't telling Jake anything," I told her forcefully.

"Don't you think he deserves to know?"

"Yes, but it's my place to tell him, and I don't think doing it right now is a good idea. It's all so new. I promise I will tell him when the time is right."

She bit her lip, nodded and walked into the living room with Dad.

What a day, I thought as I headed to my room. My whole life had just turned down a new path, and I couldn't wait to get started. Aunt Alice had pestered me for hours, wanting to tell me what she was seeing. What fun would life be if I knew how it was all going to turn out? Even if it was incredibly subjective and could change at the drop of a hat, I still didn't want to know.

The next day came quickly and I soon realized that the rest of my family had been told of the new developments. They were looking at me differently, sadly almost. I realized that they were thinking about me as the baby, all grown up much too soon for their liking. Jake was oblivious, thankfully.

When we got to the school, I rushed in ahead of everyone else, making my way to Owen's locker. I was hoping to catch him before 1st period so I could try and repair the damage that I was sure my father had done.

I saw a huge smile spread across his face when he turned the corner and saw me standing there. "Hey Nessie! What's up?" he said when he got closer.

"Hey...I uh..I want to apologize for my brother last night."

"Don't worry about it, Ness. I'm a big brother too, so I know how it is. No hard feelings."

"I promise Edward won't behave that way again. We had a little talk last night.."

He laughed and shook his head, "I'm sure you set him straight."

"Hey! I'm pretty strong willed and intimidating when I need to be."

"I wasn't being sarcastic, I have no doubt that you set him straight."

The bell for first period rang and I knew I needed to rush, I had to get all the way across the school in 2 minutes. "So all is forgiven?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Owen. You're the best." I leaned up, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then darted down the hall toward my class. Right before I turned the corner, I glanced back and saw him standing in the same spot staring with hazy eyes at the place where I'd been before. Huh, I guess I'd inherited some of that Cullen 'dazzling' gene after all.

Even though nothing was 'official', Owen and I became more and more like a couple everyday. He started walking me to class, holding my hand as we weaved through the crowd of students who never gave us a second glance. He came over every afternoon to hang out, or to pick me up and take me to hang out at his house. I admired his bravery for continuing to come over, even though he still got the occasional menacing glare from my father.

It didn't take long for his house to feel like a second home to me. His mother and I were becoming quite good friends, and his father often asked for my opinion on various pieces of artwork he created or came across. At first I could tell he did it just to make me feel welcome and involved, but after awhile he seemed to really value my honesty and what I had to say. Only Amanda was still a little put off by me, and I knew it was because I was monopolizing so much of her brothers time.

Other than that minor blip, my life was blissful. I was in a constant state of happiness. Until the week before the hospital benefit anyway. We were sitting at lunch with our crowd, as always, when the subject of our Halloween plans came up.

"Hey, do you guys want to come over next week for Halloween?" Wren asked everyone at the table. "We'll have a scary movie marathon and make ourselves sick with candy."

"We'll be at the benefit," Owen told her.

"Oh, I know that the three of you won't be able to come," she said, gesturing to Owen, Jake and I, "I was talking about everyone else."

"I'm not going to the hospital thing, so I can come to your house Wren." Jake said.

"You're not? Why? Your whole family is going!"

"I'm not really into that sort of thing, getting all dressed up and stuff."

I kicked Wren under the table and raised my eyebrows in her direction, trying to tell her to drop it. She didn't, of course.

"Ohhh, I see now. You don't have a date!"

Oh dear God. This was going to be bad. Jake cleared his throat and tried to busy himself with the slice of pizza sitting on his plate. I remembered the conversation my dad and I had about Rory liking Jake...I knew what Wren was going to do next. Of course my dad wasn't here when I needed him, he was out hunting with Uncle Emmett for the day.

"Ow, Nessie. Stop kicking me!" She said densely as I continued nudging her with my leg under the table. "You know Jake, I don't think Rory has any plans for Halloween."

"Um, yes I do. I just said that I'd come to your house." Her face had turned so red that it looked like it was about to burst into flames.

"I'm really not into the whole dancing thing, and Carlisle has already RSVPed. I doubt there's enough time to add two more to their table. It's really okay Wren, Rory and I will have more fun at your house anyway," Jake said rather firmly.

I eyed him apologetically, and he smiled a half smile at me. Wren looked satisfied that at least the two of them would be together at her house. I had a feeling that poor Jake would be pushed toward Rory at every opportunity.

As soon as I got home from school, I called Wren. "What was all _that_ about?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You know what! You embarrassed the hell out of poor Rory, not to mention Jake."

"Rory totally has a thing for him, and I just thought that maybe he needs a distraction, you know..to get over you. Unless...is that why you and Owen haven't made it official yet? You have a thing for Jake?!"

"NO!! I don't know why we haven't made it official, we just haven't talked about it. I don't have a thing for Jake, but I can tell you for sure that he's not interested in Rory."

What else could I say that would make her see? 'Jake will never love anyone but me, so don't even try' would definitely make me sound crazy. "Wren, please just trust me on this one. If Jake likes Rory he will make a move, he's not shy. So just let them be, okay?"

"Fine. Whatever you say." She said with mild disappointment.

We talked for a while more about random school things, and then I told her I needed to go, Owen would be over soon.

"Have fun," she said slyly, "come over later if you want, I think Allen, Luke and Rory are."

"Yeah, we might. Later, Wren."

I still had a little bit of time to kill before he arrived. I thought about starting on my homework or reading a collection of short stories that had been sitting on my desk untouched, but neither of those seemed to appeal to me at the moment. I decided to go sit at the piano, and see if I felt like playing. As soon as I sat on the smooth black bench, my fingers started flying across the keys. I was hardly conscious of the movement, it was just as natural as walking or even breathing. I'm not sure how long I sat there, totally lost in the sound of a song I'd never heard before. But when I looked up, Owen was standing at the door. I nearly had a heart attack, it wasn't easy to surprise a vampire.

"Don't stop." he said, moving into the room and sitting in one of the big armchairs nearest to me.

When the sky started to darken, and the room with it, I finally quit playing. I glanced at him and he moved from the chair onto the bench next to me.

"I could listen to you play for hours."

"You just did." I smiled, not sure if he could see me clearly in the dark room.

I could see him, and the indecision that flickered across his face as he reached up and put his hand in my hair. I leaned a little bit closer. He wrapped his other arm around my waist, sliding me on the bench so that I was even closer. Slowly, he tilted his head down and pressed his lips onto mine. I'd often heard about 'fireworks' and 'sparks flying' when you shared a good kiss with someone, but I wasn't expecting a full on light show and the feeling that I could faint or fly at any moment. Much, much too soon he pulled back slightly and looked at me. His eyes, which normally looked hazel in the darkness, were a bright and clear green tonight. They were gazing at me in a way that left little doubt in my mind that he loved me too.


	16. Chapter 16

Nearly a week had passed since that night in the music room, but the kiss was still all I could think about. It was driving my father up the wall. He wasn't home the night it happened, obviously, or it never would have. He was very careful to not give Owen a chance to do it again.

"ARGH! Nessie, Enough!" he said when he walked into the living room. "It's like you are screaming the replay at me, I can't take it anymore! How long are you going to relive this?"

"How long did you relive your first kiss with Mom?"

"I...uhh...well. Just give it a rest for a little while, please," he muttered as he walked quickly away. I laughed to myself. I saw the way my parents looked at each other, and it was easy to see that they thought of their first kiss often.

I sank back down into my daydream and felt the slight nagging in the back of my head that showed itself every once and awhile. Jacob. I hadn't told him yet, I just couldn't figure out how.

"Hey, Ness. Whats up?" Aunt Alice said as she and Jasper came to sit in the living room.

"Just wishing for once that you could tell me what was going to happen."

"I can now! What do you want to know?" she asked excitedly, I never asked to see her visions.

"It has to do with Jake, so you can't. I just wish I could know how he's going to take all this."

Uncle Jasper had a confused look on his face, "Don't you think he's figured it out yet? I mean...it's kind of obvious really."

"Do you think he has?" I asked.

"Yes. His emotions when Owen is around are pretty strong. Jealousy, anger, and a few other things that are hard to put a name to. Almost like he is resigned to not being with you. It must have something to do with the imprint, it's like he's miserable, but happy at the same time."

Great, I was making Jake miserable. Then I wondered, if he really did know that I was in love with someone else, why hadn't my dad told me? Surely he would have heard it in his thoughts. Jake was down in the garage, and out of hearing range for the moment, so I went to the music room where Dad was playing.

"I'm not telling you a thing," he said before I'd opened my mouth.

"Daddy! Come on! Why won't you tell me if Jake knows?"

"Because he deserves to hear it from you, and I know you'll chicken out if you think he already knows."

He was right. I was looking for ways to get out of doing this, and if he already knew I'd never tell him myself. A smug smile crossed my fathers face as my thoughts confirmed his theory. Even though I knew I'd have to do it, I reasoned that it could be put off for a little while longer. The benefit was tomorrow night, so there was no need to stir up trouble until it was over.

I pushed Jake to the back of my mind and focused instead on the upcoming event. I was more excited than I'd ever been, and I fully intended to dazzle Owen to the best of my abilities. I went to bed early to try and rush the next day. When it finally came, school passed slowly, as it always does when you are looking forward to something.

Aunt Alice whispered to me after choir, "Come straight to the car after school, I've only got limited time to work my magic on the whole family, so we need as much of it as we can get." I did as she asked, after telling Owen to pick me up at 7.

As soon as we got home Alice whisked all of the girls up to her monster sized bathroom suite. I was in awe of her preparation. She had installed four salon chairs that had our names sewn into them so we knew where to sit. On the counter in front of each chair was a mound of hair and skin products, each chosen especially for us.

"Rose, you can do Esme's hair while I work on Bella and Nessie. Here's a picture of how I think it should look."

Esme looked like she wanted to argue, but then decided to indulge her daughter and go with the flow. She sat perfectly still while Aunt Rose braided an elaborate crown on the top of her head. Alice was like superwomen, with one hand she was pulling my mothers hair up on top of her head and the other was combing back the front of my hair with some sort of gel. She had pictures from My Fair Lady and Gigi taped up on the mirror for inspiration.

It wasn't long before she was applying the finishing touches, putting a delicate crown on my mother and giving me a final coat of hairspray. Rose finished Grandma Esme's hair, and had already moved on to applying her own makeup. The crazy primping routine continued for the next few hours as Alice debated about the right color eye shadow and lipstick for each of us.

By 6:30 we were ready to put on our costumes. My mother took my breath away in her flowing cap sleeved gown, it was pale silver and sparkled every time she moved. The ornate choker around her neck looked just like the one in the movie, and I wondered for a moment if Aunt Alice had done something crazy like buy the original. Grandma Esme was just as striking in her deep purple gown with it's gold accents.

I had to laugh when Aunt Rose began to get dressed. She kept muttering under her breath, "Ridiculous...going as vampires...of all the stupid...he'll pay for this." Even in her unhappy state, her face all twisted up in aggravation, she was still drop dead gorgeous. She was wearing a tight, black strapless gown that was slit all the way up the thigh. She also had a black cape lined with blood red satin thrown across her shoulders, her long blond hair billowing in waves over it and down her back. Even without the fangs Uncle Emmett was insisting upon, she looked like a vampire.

Now it was my turn, I heard my mother gasp as Aunt Alice began to button the gown from behind me. "You look so grown up, baby," she said as she dabbed nonexistent tears from her eyes. I turned to face the full length mirror and was more satisfied with my appearance than I'd ever been. The white satin bodice wrapped around my torso, making my waist look tiny, and then flowed into the skirt which had a long white train. The neckline was low and showed off the creamy skin of my neck and chest. Black feathers covered the thin off the shoulder straps.

I stood and gazed at my reflection until the conversation behind me caught my attention. Alice still hadn't made up her mind about which costume she should wear, so she was trying on each of them to get our opinion. The first was a cute canary yellow dress that was knee length and dripping in fringe. She came out of her dressing room doing the Charleston, which made us all dissolve into giggles. A few minutes later she emerged again and we all knew immediately that this was _the_ dress for her. It was a modernized version of the green gown that Scarlett O'Hara made from her curtains. It was almost identical, but with a less puffy skirt and a slightly more revealing neck line.

"Alice! That is stunning! Jasper will love you in that dress, you have to wear it." Aunt Rose gushed to her. Rose rarely gushed, so that spoke to the amazingness of the outfit.

"Okay, okay. Owen will be here any minute so we better get downstairs." She handed my mother and I our white, elbow length gloves and then passed around masks that matched each of our dresses. "Jasper, I'm going Southern!" she called, letting him know which tux to put on. "We'll be coming down the front stairs in 40 seconds, so you boys better be ready!" she called.

We walked down the stairs like we were giving a fashion show, listening to the guys ohh and ahh over us. The men did look incredibly handsome in their tuxes which, other than Grandpa Carlisle and Emmett, matched the time periods perfectly. I had to laugh at Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose, they did look pretty silly. He had insisted on incorporating every vampire cliche into their costumes and the result was more than mildly amusing.

"I vant to drink your blood!" he shouted in a cheesy accent and then chased Rose around the entryway.

Only Jake, who was spending the evening at Wren's, was wearing normal street clothes. "You look amazing," he whispered in my ear as I gave him a hug. "Owen better appreciate what he has."

I smiled at him and then heard the Jetta turn onto the driveway, "Speaking of, I think he's here." Jake quickly detached himself and darted to the garage, obviously eager to get away before he had to see Owen and I together, all dressed up.

"We're going to head out, Nessie. We'll see you and Owen there," my mother told me as she started dragging my dad off toward the garage. I was thankful for her attempt to give us some privacy tonight. Less than a minute after my family had cleared the entryway, I heard Owen walking up the steps. DING DONG. My heart was pounding in my chest, so I took three deep, even breaths and walked to the door.

If my heart had been pounding before, it seemed like it had totally stopped now. He was so beautiful. Alice had sent over very specific instructions with his tux earlier today, so he was the perfect vision of a Parisian gentleman circa 1900. He even had a top hat and cane!

"You look perfect" I told him honestly.

"Is your brother here?" He asked. What an odd question to ask right now....

"No, my family already left."

He stepped into the house and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. "Good," he said, "I've been waiting all week to do this again." He kissed me for the second time and the same incredible feeling flooded through me as I kissed him back. I forgot all about the party. I would have just as much, if not more, fun standing here kissing him all evening.

After a moment, he pulled back and looked at me. "You look..._amazing_. That's not even the right word..there are no words."

A deep blush colored my cheeks as he grabbed my hand and led me to the car. After the initial shock of seeing one another so dressed up, we fell into our regular pattern of banter. It wasn't far to the nicest hotel in town, where the event was being held, so we arrived in about 5 minutes. He pulled to the curb, tossed the keys to the valet and came around to help me get out.

"Put your mask up," I nudged him as we walked into the ballroom. We both raised our black and white masks to our faces as we walked in. Large bouquets of deep red roses and creepy curly willow sat on top of black table cloths, giving the ballroom room a festive air. All around us people were dressed in costumes ranging from queens and kings to famous movie stars.

"What table are we?" I asked, looking around the 30 or so tables for his parents.

"Um, 11 I think," he said, leading me towards the right side of the dance floor.

We both stopped in our tracks as soon as we spotted table 11. Sitting there next to my family were Owens parents, talking animatedly to Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme. Had my family arranged this?! My father looked in my eyes and shook his head slightly. So it was just by chance? I didn't believe that for a second. My father shook his head again.

"Oh my _GOD_. I can not believe my parents did this!" Owen said between clinched teeth.

"_Your _parents? But why?!"

"Last week, Amanda decided that she didn't want to come. So my mom called and told the organizer that there would only be 4 of us instead of 5, she must have asked which tables were open and asked to be with your family. She told me that I'd enjoy who we were sitting with...I should have known."

I looked at my dad again and he nodded. Great, just great. I thought I was going to cry. Karen spotted us just then and stood, waving us over."Oh Nessie, you look wonderful! Just like Leslie Caron in Gigi, only prettier!"

"Thank you, I love your costume too!" I told her with false enthusiasm. She and John were dressed as Flamenco dancers.

As soon as we sat down in front of our place cards (I was in between Owen and Emmett. _Fabulous_), I heard my father speak low and fast so that only my family could hear, "We'll _all_ be on our best behavior, I promise. We're very sorry about this." I nodded my head a fraction of an inch and turned my attention to Owens parents.

"So this is funny. How did we all end up at the same table?" I wanted to hear why Karen thought this would be fun.

"Oh, that's my doing," she said lightly. "You talk so much about your Aunt and Uncle, and we share interests in art and architecture, I thought it would be fun to get to know them. You and Owen spend so much time together, so it's about time we met anyway!"

"I'm so glad you arranged this, we have been wanting to meet you for quite some time," Grandma Esme said graciously, while shooting a sympathetic glance me. I was debating going into full on pout mode, but before I could Owen grabbed my hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. My heart sped up and all thoughts of pouting left my mind. I was brought back to the wonderful kiss in the entryway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my fathers eyes narrow slightly.

I was startled back to reality by a waiter leaning over me, asking for my order. I looked down at the small menu card in front of me, my choices were salmon, steak or a vegetarian dish. "Steak, rare as possible please."

Everyone else at the table ordered steak as well, with the exception of John, who ordered the vegetarian selection. "You're a vegetarian? I didn't know that," I said to him.

"Have been off and on since the 60's. I eat meat occasionally, I have a friend who bow hunts deer and uses all parts of the animal. I'll eat Jerky and venison steaks from him. I just don't like commercially raised meat products."

"I hear ya," Uncle Emmett snickered, "I prefer my meals straight from the wild as well."

My family just stared, wide eyed at him. The Ross family didn't seem to think that there was anything odd about his statement. John began to question him casually, "Oh? You hunt?"

"Often," Emmett replied, "we have great land for hunting around our house. We go as much as we can."

"Oh you all go then? Nessie never mentioned that you were hunting enthusiasts, how interesting. Do you use rifles or bows?"

"We prefer more...natural methods," he grinned. The silverware on the table clattered as my dad dropped his head into his hands. Grandpa Carlisle cleared his throat loudly and Aunt Rose started to dig her fingernails into Uncle Emmett's leg. I could have kissed the waiters as they started setting salads down in front of us. I'd never been so happy to see vegetables in all my life.

Before John could ask Emmett anything more, Grandpa Carlisle began peppering him with questions about the sculpture he'd donated for the auction. I let out a sigh and looked at Dad. It was obvious that everyone was asking him the same question in their heads, 'Did John suspect anything odd?' He moved his eyes from left to right slowly, indicating a 'no'.

Phew, dodged a bullet there. I relaxed until Dad began to look intensely at me, shifting his eyes to Owen and back me, an eyebrow slightly raised. What about Owen? Was this about the kiss? Was Dad going to start a stink about that _now_?! He rolled his eyes and shook his head infinitesimally before starting to look back and forth between us again. Did _Owen_ suspect something? I saw my fathers eyes raise to the ceiling and back down to the floor, telling me 'yes'.


	17. Chapter 17

I was panicking, gripping the edge of the table with my fingers and trying to catch my breath. How had this happened? Damn Emmett! I would never forgive him for this. My dad looked in my eyes and motioned very subtlety for me to calm down. It was times like this when I wished I could read _his_ mind. I saw him take the menu off the table and a pen out of his pocket and then begin to write something down.

"Excuse me for a moment, please. Nessie? Will you come with me?" My mother said politely, getting up from the table. I was thankful that women go to the restroom in pairs as I got up and followed her. No one even looked up from their salads to watch us leave. As I walked around the table I noticed lettuce leaves bulging from Uncle Emmett's coat pocket and almost laughed..until I remembered that I was furious with him.

"Here," my mother told me once we were safely alone in the restroom. I opened the menu and started reading my fathers note.

_**Bella, take Nessie to the powder room and give her this. Burn it when you're done. Don't be gone too long, love. **_

_**Nessie, don't say anything out loud, I'd prefer the family not hear any of this yet**_. _**Emmett didn't make him suspicious, I did. He thinks that I can read minds because of the way I react to his thoughts. I've been careless and I'm sorry. I think he's going to ask you about it tonight at some point, so you must stay calm. He's extremely observant and I don't think he'll accept a flippant answer from you, so just be as honest as you can without giving anything away. If Alice sees this going badly, I'll think of something else. So sorry baby. **_

I was confused on so many levels. I thought them over while my mother made sure no one was coming and then lit the menu on fire and stuffed it down the sink drain. I didn't understand why the family couldn't know about this, maybe they could help? I'm sure Dad had his reasons though. And what had Owen been thinking about that would cause my father to react so badly that it was noticeable? And finally, what on earth was I going to say when Owen asked me? I rested my hand against my mothers cheek and showed her all of these things.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I only know as much as you."

We made our way back to the table, where the waiters were just setting down the entrees. Good, my steak was practically raw, at least I would enjoy part of this meal. I tried to relax and just focus on the plate in front of me, but couldn't. Uncle Jasper kept glancing at me, searching for the reason behind the confusion and terror emanating from me. He sent wave after wave of calm, but it helped little.

As I finished the last few bites of my steak, the band began to play an upbeat swing tune, drawing a few couples out onto the dance floor. Aunt Alice looked pleadingly at Uncle Jasper and with a slight sigh he rose to his feet and offered her his hand. The sight of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara doing the jitterbug was enough to occupy my mind for at least the length of the song. When the band switched to a sultry tango, I giggled a little as Aunt Rose pulled Uncle Emmett out of his chair and hauled him out to the floor, tossing her cape over the back of her chair as she went.

Aunt Rose was definitely able to showcase her _abilities_ doing the tango, I saw more than one woman smack her husband as he looked a little too closely at her perfect white leg sticking out of the outrageously high cut slit. The softer waltz that filled the air next drew my parents and grandparents out to join the dancers.

As I sat watching their graceful twirls, a rotund, balding man dressed as the devil came and sat next to John. "Mr. Ross! Good to see you again. How wonderful that you were seated with Dr. Cullen, he's the newest addition to our staff at the hospital. I suspect that you two had much in common."

"Yes, we do. Our children go to school together also, so I've been wanting to meet him for quite some time. Karen, this is Dr. Steele, he and his wife organized the event and asked me to donate one of my pieces."

I tuned out the pleasantries and kept watching my family put every other couple to shame, thinking about what I was going to say when the topic of mind reading was broached later tonight...

I was brought out of my pondering by Dr. Steele addressing Owen, "It's so nice to meet you, Owen. Who is the young lady you've brought tonight?"

Before I could open my mouth to introduce myself, Owen did it for me, "This is my girlfriend, Nessie Cullen."

_Girlfriend_?! I smiled hugely and squeezed Owens hand under the table. I heard my father growl from across the room, so much for him being more careful. I only had about 2 seconds to rejoice over the word 'girlfriend' in my head before I needed to respond to the question Dr. Steele had just asked.

"Yes, I'm the youngest Cullen."

"I guess you and Dr. Cullen have more in common than I thought!" Dr. Steele said to John before excusing himself to go dance with his wife.

"Would you like to dance, Nessie?" Owen asked when a vocalist joined the band and started singing 'Wonderful Tonight'. I nodded and walked with him to the floor. I grabbed the small loop at the end of my train and held it up as we started to dance a basic box step. He wasn't bad, not at all. He didn't have the perfect grace that I was used to from dancing with my father or uncles, but we could have shuffled around for all I cared, dancing with him was infinitely better.

"So, _boyfriend_, are you having fun?" I teased.

"I'm so sorry, I should have asked first. I figured that we were on that path, but I shouldn't have just blurted it out like that without asking you," he paused for a moment, "Do you want to be? My girlfriend, I mean."

"Of course! The grin on my face should have told you that I was thrilled when you said it," I beamed at him.

He pulled me closer and leaned down to kiss the top of my head, "I'd give you a real kiss, but your brother is giving me a particularly evil look right about now."

I turned to look over my shoulder and sure enough, there he was, glaring murderously at Owen from across the room. _I thought you were going to be better, Dad! This is NOT helping. Please, try harder. _I saw him give me a slight nod and return his attention to my mother. When I faced Owen again he was looking at me with an odd expression on his face, but quickly smoothed it away. I tried to put my father out of my mind and just focus on the moment, my first dance with my first boyfriend. I was in heaven. I took a deep breath and leaned my head into his chest and closed my eyes.

When the song ended I didn't want to stop, but the band started playing disco and middle aged couples flooded the floor.

"I don't think this band was aimed at our demographic," Owen said with a laugh as his spotted his parents doing their best 'Saturday Night Fever' impression.

"Um, definitely not. Let's go look at the silent auction stuff. Maybe there's something we can bid on." We walked over to several long tables set up to one side of the room where the dozens of donated items were being displayed with the bidding sheets set out in front of them. There were several themed gift baskets, a few weekend getaways, a family portrait session, and certificates to various business around town. At the end of the line, on a small table by itself, was Johns sculpture. I'd seen it many times in his studio and it was one of my favorites.

"Looks like Carlisle is the high bidder right now," Owen told me, looking down at the paper.

"Awesome! I hope he wins, I'd love to have this at home."

We hovered around the bidding tables for awhile longer, talking over the various items. The band had obviously found what pleased this crowd, they continued to play upbeat disco songs for the next 20 minutes. 'Brick House' had the crowd in a tizzy, I saw Aunt Alice dancing around an uncomfortable looking Uncle Jasper and Owen's parents getting down on the other side of the floor. The rest of my family was sitting at the table, looking amused. All except for my father, he looked annoyed.

Alice danced her way toward me and whispered very low, "Make him take you all the way to Wren's driveway without stopping, you'll be too close to Jake for me to see you then. Trust me." She danced away before I could reply.

"What was that about, what was she whispering?" Owen asked.

"Oh nothing, just Alice being Alice."

"Hey, this party is getting a little...well, boring. Do you want to head over to Wren's for awhile?"

"Sure! I'll go ask. Go tell your parents we're going and I'll meet you by the door."

I rushed to the table and, over the objections of my father, my mother told me, "Go, have fun, but don't stay out too late please, you still have school tomorrow."

Uncle Jasper pulled Aunt Alice though the crowd and to the table, making her sit for awhile. He started grumbling, "I'm sick of dancing. I hated the seventies when I lived through it. I don't care to do it again."

His sour mood was making my father even more agitated, he glared at Aunt Alice. "Why are you blocking me out, Alice?" he growled, "Why did you tell Nessie to go straight to Wren's, what did you see?" She just smile serenely at him, obviously concentrating very hard on something.

I needed to get out of here before he exploded, "Uh, so I'll see you all later. Have fun." I turned and headed for the door, waving goodbye to John and Karen as I went. As soon as Owen and I walked out into the cool fall air, he took off his jacket and laid it over my shoulders. I wasn't cold, but it was such a sweet gesture. We were in the car and headed out of town toward Wren's house before either of us spoke.

"So, you had fun tonight?" Owen asked.

"Mhum, and you?"

"Yes, very much."

Why were things so awkward all of the sudden? We'd been in his car alone dozens of times, but something was different tonight. Hopefully our new relationship status wasn't the cause of this. Owen cleared his throat and shifted nervously in his seat, like he wanted to say something. Oh no, _now_ I understood, he was behaving like someone who wanted to bring up a difficult topic. Like mind reading.

Might as well get the ball rolling, "Whats up? It seems like something is bothering you."

"Um, yeah actually. It's Edward, he's been acting really weird lately. Don't get me wrong, I really like your brother and I _think_ he likes me too...about 75% of the time anyway."

"He likes you. He's just protective, you know how it is. Just ignore him." I rushed to get the words out.

"No, its more than that, Nessie. God, this sounds crazy, but it's like he knows what I'm thinking. If I even think of touching you or kissing you he just appears and glares at me. I didn't really start to notice until tonight, and then it all kind of fell together. I grabbed your hand _under the table_, there's no way he could have seen, and he just started staring at me. It's not normal."

I had no clue what to say. I couldn't tell him he was making this all up in his head, because he wasn't. "I think you might just be reading too much into this. Edward is very good at reading people, and he often has a scowl on his face, so I wouldn't be too concerned."

"We're getting close to Wren's, can we stop and talk somewhere?" he asked.

So this is what Alice had been seeing, but why would she need to hide this from Dad? He already knew that Owen was going to bring this up. "Let's just get to Wren's, we can stop in the driveway and talk."

"Sure."

We continued on and Owen seemed to be collecting his thoughts, waiting until we turned up the gravel road to Wren's to speak again, "Is this okay?" he asked pulling off to the side of the drive narrow drive about a quarter of a mile from the house.

"Yeah, I guess," we should be close enough to the house for Jacob to obscure Alice's vision. "What is so important that you can't drive and talk at the same time?" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

He unbuckled his seat belt and turned his body toward me, "Something isn't right. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like I'm overlooking something _big_. I know I sound crazy, and I'm kind of starting to feel like I am, but you would tell me wouldn't you? If there was something going on?"

He was practically pleading with me to assure him that he wasn't going insane, "You're not crazy," I relented.

"So I'm right then? Something isn't normal?"

I bristled at the word 'normal', I'd wished so many times that I could just be normal, but that could never be the case. I wouldn't lie to him, but I had to keep him from knowing. I looked into his eyes and tried to sound as serious as I could, "Owen, you just have to trust that you know everything you should. Please." We sat in silence for what felt like eternity, finally Owen nodded.

"I promise that it's better this way," I had the sudden urge to cradle his sad looking face in my hands, but pulled back at the last moment, remembering what would happen if I did. I settled for grabbing his hands in mine instead. I leaned across the small space between us and kissed him lightly, it was about time that I initiated something, he'd done all the kissing so far. He reached around my waist, trying to pull me closer in the cramped front seat of the car. I ended up half in his seat, wedged between the steering wheel and his chest.

I came up gasping for air after several minutes, I could feel this getting out of hand, but didn't want to stop. Who knew when we'd have the chance to kiss like this again without being seen by some family member? I leaned back in for another go, but Owen pushed me back softly. "Ness, gotta catch my breath. Besides, this is hardly the place. I mean, look at us, all dressed up and making out squished up in the front seat of my car!" We both started laughing as we let the hormones cool and noticed the awkward position we were in.

He smoothed my hair back and kissed my cheek before I wiggled myself back into my own seat and sighed, "Well, it was fun while it lasted." I owed Aunt Alice for this big time. I smiled and made a mental note to promise to shop with her as often as she wanted for the next decade.


	18. Chapter 18

I made good on that promise, and Aunt Alice definitely took advantage. It was the 12th time we'd been shopping in the past 3 weeks. As we wandered around the racks of luxury clothes, she occasionally tossed a shirt or a dress in my direction. I hadn't worn half the things she'd bought me on our recent excursions, but it didn't stop her from going overboard every time.

"I'm ready to go home, Alice. I don't think I can handle much more time in the dressing room today, and besides, Owen will be at our house in 40 minutes. It'll take us at least 30 to get home." We had driven to the large city about 70 miles away.

"Ugh," she moaned. "I don't want to go home!"

I understood why, things had been a little strained since the benefit. As soon as I had gotten home that night, my father immediately picked up what had happened in my thoughts. He was furious with Aunt Alice, and had hardly spoken to her since. He was even more unbearably overprotective of me than before, if that was even possible. I was impressed that Owen would even come over anymore, we never got even a second alone. The occasional visit to his house was fun, but I wasn't allowed to go over anymore unless his parents were home.

I started pushing Aunt Alice toward the register while trying to discard things I didn't want along the way. Alice just turned around and scooped them back up again.

"I don't need those," I told her as she grabbed an item I set down.

"It's not for you. It's for your mother."

"_Right_, because we both know how much she loves snake skin gloves."

She just grinned and put them on top of my towering pile of stuff. I rolled my eyes and heaved it all onto the checkout counter. It was a new employee checking us out, I knew because she looked at us suspiciously. Anyone who had worked in the womens department for any length of time knew us, or at least knew _of_ us.

We piled all of our bags into the Porsche and sped off toward home, pulling in 5 minutes before Owen was due. I raced inside with my bags to change and brush my hair before he arrived. I grabbed a pretty red sweater and ripped off the tags, throwing it on over a camisole. As I ran a brush through my hair I heard someone come in my room.

"Why the rush? Owen on his way?" Jacob asked as he leaned against my bathroom door frame.

"Yup," I said as I started vigorously brushing my teeth. Jake and I had a kind of silent agreement about the whole Owen situation. He didn't ask and I didn't volunteer anything. After he heard from Wren that we were indeed an official couple the day after Halloween, I'd tried to tell him everything, but he just didn't want to talk about it. As he stood there watching me brush, I thought about what he'd told me.

_'I know, Ness. I know. But I just don't want to hear the words, not from you. I won't get in your way. If it has to be this way, I'm glad it's Owen. I like him. I just don't need details.'_

I was okay with that arrangement. He didn't like to hangout with us when we were at our house, I'm sure he felt like the third wheel, but we still spent a lot of time together over at Wrens and on our regular weekly hunting trips.

"Are you going over to Wren's?" I asked as I spit into the sink. "I think we're planning on going later."

He rolled his eyes and nodded, making me laugh. I knew the cause of that eye roll, and for once it wasn't because of me. Wren had not listened to a word I'd said to her, and she was still pushing Rory and Jake together at every opportunity. Jake didn't seem to mind too much, Rory was sweet and easy to be around. They were becoming good friends, despite her shyness and his obvious issues.

"Owen's here!" my mother shouted from downstairs. A half second later I heard the sound of his car on the driveway. I gave Jake a playful punch in the arm and ran downstairs, sliding to a stop right in front of the door. I was so excited to see him that I threw it open right as he was reaching to ring the bell.

"Good timing," he laughed as I wrapped my arms around him and he pressed his lips to my neck. "God you smell good," he muttered into my hair. I smiled, another vampire quality that worked in my advantage.

"Hey, Owen!" Uncle Emmett said as he walked down the stairs, sent by my father to keep watch over us, I was sure. Dad rarely stayed around for too long, fearing that Owen would see more to confirm his suspicions. Instead he sent others to do his dirty work. "Feel like playing a game or two on the playstation? You and Jasper against me."

"Actually, I think Nessie wanted some help with science and then we're going over to Wren's. Tomorrow afternoon though, for sure!"

Aunt Rose glided down the stairs and raised an eyebrow. "Not tomorrow," she said. "Carlisle wants to go hiking, the weather is going to be nice."

Darn the sun. We'd had to miss school a few times because of it this semester, but not as often as we'd expected. There were lots of those 'partly cloudy' days, but since we didn't have to walk outside to any of our classes, we were able to carefully avoid windows and park in the shade. Alice must have seen a particularly shiny day tomorrow.

"You're so lucky, I'd love it if my parents would pull me out of school in the middle of the week to go hike," Owen said wistfully. He did love hiking, and often asked to go the next time my family went on a weekend. Too bad we never did any actual hiking.

The rest of the night went by as most of ours did, homework and then off to Wren's. I stole as many kisses as I could in her driveway, knowing Alice couldn't see me since Jake was already there. I made sure to keep the PDA to a minimum around Jake, so the few minutes spent in the Fraser's driveway were the only chances we got. Of course my father would see it as soon as I got home, but he would just grumble and gripe to my mother. They couldn't keep me locked up at home all the time.

"Do you want me to bring your homework to you tomorrow? When will you be back from hiking?" Owen asked as he drove me home later that night.

"Yeah, that'd be great. We won't be back until after dark though, so you shouldn't come over until about 6:30 or 7:00." It was getting dark earlier now that winter was bearing down on us, the sun usually went down at about 6:00, so that should be safe.

He walked me to the door and gave me a quick kiss. It was rarely more than that at my house, Owen was always wary of my 'brother' appearing out of thin air as he was prone to do. The house was quiet, so I went straight to bed and thought about how I was going to fill the empty, sunny day that I had ahead of me.

I awoke the next morning to the sun already high in the sky, shining in through the cracks in my heavy curtains. I stretched and listened for the sounds of my family, wondering what they were doing with their free day. I didn't hear anything. How odd. I made my way downstairs and found Grandma Esme sitting quietly reading a book.

"Good morning, dear," she said without looking up.

"Where is everyone?" I yawned.

"Most of them are out hunting, since we have the whole day, they went quite a ways out. I'm planning on joining them, but waited behind to see if you'd like to come. Jake and your mother went to Forks for the day."

They went to Forks? _Without me_!

"Now calm down," Grandma Esme said in response to the look on my face. "They weren't planning on going, but Jake had some business in La Push and Bella just went to keep him company. They didn't want to wake you."

"Fine," I huffed. "I think I'd rather just stick around here today. I have a ton of reading to do for English class. I just hunted a few days ago anyway."

"Okay, I'm sure you'd enjoy a day to yourself. We'll be home sometime this evening." She stood and walked to the back door after giving me a hug, breaking into a run as she got into the gardens.

A whole day alone. The more I thought about it, the more I was okay with missing a trip to Forks if I had the house to myself, this _never_ happened. I skipped up to my room and changed into shorts and a tank top, hoping that I could soak up some sun outside. It was cold by normal standards, but it didn't bother me. I sprawled out on the grass in my Eden, a pile of books by my side. I held up my arm and looked at the shimmery glow imitating from it, and felt the warmth from the sun on my exposed skin. I liked the way it looked, definitely not natural or normal, but still pretty.

I reveled in my solitude, wishing I got this chance more often, but after awhile I began to feel lonely. When you spend your life surrounded by people, being by yourself can be an awkward thing. For a moment, I thought about calling Owen and seeing if he'd like to skip school and come hangout (inside, of course). But I knew that when my father found out, I'd be in big trouble and likely never let out of his sight again. So I returned my attention to reading.

I laid there for hours on end, finishing one book and picking up another. I eventually even got around to reading some Henry V. for English class. I'm not sure when I drifted off to sleep, but I woke up to my phone buzzing in my pocket. I flipped it open and looked at the tiny screen. 13 missed calls? How had I slept through that? One was from Owen, the other 12 were from Aunt Alice, and all had been placed in the last 15 minutes.

I sat up and put the phone to my ear, listening to the first voicemail. It was Owen.

'_Hey Ness! Today has been so boring without you, I thought I'd see if you were home a little early. You're bad about having your phone on you...so I think I'll just come over. Hopefully I'll see you in a few!'_

Oh my God. I knew without listening what Aunt Alice was going to say in her messages. I tried to rush the phone along, wanting to get to her instructions. Should I just stay put out here until dark? Or try and dart back into the house? I would normally run for it, but maybe that's what he saw in Alice's vision, but if I stayed put he might see me in the sun.

And then, like it was happening in slow motion, I saw the leaves on the hedge begin to rustle. I was so focused on my messages that I hadn't heard him approach.

Owen rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, his backpack making a loud thud as it fell from his shoulder. I closed my eyes and waited for his screaming, or the sound of his body hitting the ground as he passed out. I couldn't believe that just a few hours ago I was admiring the beauty of my luminous skin, and now it was going to ruin my life.

It felt like an eternity passed as I sat there, waiting for everything to crash down. But nothing happened. I opened my eyes a fraction of an inch and saw that Owen hadn't moved. He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. I opened my eyes the rest of the way and he took a step back. It was like a knife going through my heart.

"Owen," I said softly. He stumbled back another step, and the knife twisted. Was he afraid of me? He was suddenly having a hard time staying steady, his hands grasping for the tall hedge to hold onto. "Owen, please." I didn't know what else to say, how could I possibly explain this away? I could tell him that it was safer for everyone if he just pretended that he never saw anything. That was definitely true, but what kind of relationship could we have if we had this huge untold secret between us?

He finally spoke, and I was surprised at his angry tone and the slight quiver behind it. "I want to know what's going on. _Right now_." He never talked to me like that, but I suppose he did have every reason to be upset. When I didn't speak for a moment, he continued, "Nessie, what _are_ you?"

"I...I don't know if I can tell you that."

"Dammit! I loved you, Renesmee, and you've be lying to me!"

My voice caught in my throat. "_Loved_, as in..not anymore." We'd never come right out and said 'I love you' to the other, even though we both knew it. Hearing him say it for the first time in past tense had caused the tears gathering in my eyes to spill over in droves.

"How can I when I obviously don't know anything about you?" he told me in a softer voice. He picked up his backpack without taking his eyes off me and backed slowly away. He was leaving.

"Owen, wait!" I stood up and rushed toward him, hoping that if I could just hold him and kiss him it would make everything okay. I knew he wouldn't let me, but it still hurt when he put his hand out to stop me. "I love you," I managed to push the words out in between my sobs.

"I'm here Nessie. Whenever you feel like being honest with me, I'm here. But not until then. I'm not going to pretend this never happened, and I'm not going to go on knowing that you're keeping something major from me. I deserve to know the truth." He turned and started walking away. A pained look crossed his face as he looked over his shoulder and saw me crumpled against the hedge, sobbing so hard that I was beyond tears.


	19. Chapter 19

I slumped down onto the grass and just laid there, feeling the cold grass on my cheek. The sun was beginning to set when I heard a car screech into the garage. A second later my mother was on the ground next to me, seeing the sparkle of her skin made me cringe.

"Renesmee, honey, are you alright? Alice called us." There was an edge of panic in her voice. Jacob ran up behind her and sank down onto the grass beside my head and started stroking my hair without saying a word.

Several hundred feet away my father burst through the trees at full speed, Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper weren't far behind. Jasper immediately started sending waves of calm in my direction, as if he expected me to be hysterical. But I was already calm, getting worked up and overly emotional wasn't going to fix this. I was surprised at how quickly I became resigned to the fact that I'd ruined everything.

My father stopped, turned to Jacob and growled fiercely. "This is _nothing_ like that, and if you don't stop thinking about it I will _make _you, dog." I hadn't heard my father talk to Jake like that since I was a baby. He must have really struck a nerve, I wondered what _this_ situation could possibly reminded him of...

"I tried to call you and warn you, I swear Nessie, I did all I could. I'm so sorry," Aunt Alice told me apologetically.

"It's okay." I started sitting up and five pairs of hands all reached out to try and support me. Grabbing my mothers, I pulled myself to her. "Can I please just go to bed?"

"Of course, baby," she said as she picked me up and cradled me in her arms. I would normally object vehemently to being carried, but I didn't have it in me today. It was actually strangely comforting.

"Do you want me to come sit with you?" asked Jake.

"Thanks, but I'd rather be alone."

My mom carried me inside and up the stairs, tucking me into my bed like I was a toddler. After she left I tried to clear my head, to think about things objectively. At least Owen would be safer, this was probably best for him. As much as I tried to tell myself that, I couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that it wasn't right. I was good for Owen, and he for me. I took three deep breaths and closed my eyes, they stung from all the tears. The rest of the family arrived home and I listened as my father explained the situation to them.

"Oh no! Not again," Aunt Rose moaned.

"What do you think we should do, Carlisle?" my mother asked.

"That is up to you and Edward. You are her parents, and we will all support whatever you decide to do."

"Just tell him and turn him!" Uncle Emmett exclaimed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Emmett," Grandma Esme said.

What my father said next absolutely floored me. I'm sure they could all hear my heart stop at his words, although they were probably so shocked themselves that they might not have noticed. "I think Emmett is right, about the telling him part anyway. Turning him is completely between he and Nessie."

"You can't be serious," Uncle Jasper said with disbelief.

"As it stands he knows enough to get himself, and us, into trouble. I don't think telling him the truth will make things worse than they already are. And I can't bear to see Nessie this way, it will affect her deeply to lose him."

He was right, it would affect me deeply. Is that the only reason my father was advocating for the truth? I figured that he would be thrilled with this development.

The idea of telling Owen the truth sent chills down my spine. What person, other than my batty mother, would willingly sign up to date a vampire? How do you even bring something like that up? 'Oh, about the glowing thing...its because I'm half vampire. And my brother is actually my dad and you were right! He can read your mind!' I almost laughed out loud at the idea of saying that, it was all so ridiculous. Instead of laughing, I began crying, because however crazy it sounded, it was true.

I heard my parents get up and make their way upstairs. There was a soft knock at my door and then my mother spoke, "Nessie, baby, you're dad and I would like to talk to you. Can we come in?"

I sat up and wiped the tears from my eyes, trying to compose myself. "Yes," my voice cracked. They walked in holding hands and sat together at the end of my bed.

"I'm hardly thrilled about this, Nessie," my dad started. "I know it must seem as if I don't like Owen, but that isn't the case. Overall I think he's very good for you. But do you know what the murder rate would be around the world if every father could hear the thoughts of their daughters boyfriends? It isn't anything personal against him."

He had a point. I guess he was behaving as well as could be expected. It hardly mattered now though, there was no more boyfriend. "Daddy, do you really think I should tell him?"

"It is up to you, but yes, I think you should."

"But the Volturi..."

He looked thoughtful for a second, and then spoke sadly. "Unfortunately, he's seen enough and been around us so often that the Volturi would likely go after him regardless. Alice doesn't see them coming anytime soon, but they will want to see you eventually. It might be best for us to go to them first, I don't think they'd send someone halfway around the world because of a human boy. If they came to visit us however..."

I shuddered at the thought of confronting the Volturi again, and at the idea of putting Owen in so much danger. My mind was warring with itself, the lines between right and wrong had never been so blurred before. I knew what _I_ wanted. Owen. But what about him? Would he even want to be a part of our secret?

I knew what I would do. I would tell him, and if he wanted nothing to do with it, we'd leave. My family wouldn't be happy, they liked it here, as did I, but they would do it for me. My stomach began to churn uncomfortably, the possibility that he might reject me was heartbreaking.

My father smiled a crooked smile, "I've been there, Nessie. I know how you feel, trust me. Just go get it over with."

Now! He wanted me to go do this now? I wasn't ready, I thought I'd have a few days to pull myself together, figure out what I was going to say.

"It'll be okay, Renesmee. Don't worry about what to say, just tell him the truth. You can do this."

I can do this, I can do this. Three deep breaths. I can do this. My parents gave me a reassuring smile and left to let me get dressed. I pulled on jeans and a blue turtle necked sweater, trying to cover as much of my offending skin as possible even though it was already dark out. I didn't bother with makeup, no amount would cover the fact my face was puffy from crying.

"I'm going!" I called toward the living room on my way out the door.

"We'll see you and Owen in a bit!" Aunt Alice called back.

My heart lept at her words. Owen was coming back here with me! At least I knew he wouldn't run away screaming, not tonight anyway. I ran out the door and and turned down the driveway, picking up speed. It only took me a couple of minutes to get to Owen's house, and before I knew it I was knocking on the front door.

Karen answered, a wide smile on her face when she saw it was me. "Nessie! We weren't expecting you tonight, Owen told us you'd gone hiking. How did you get here?" She looked around the driveway for whoever had brought me.

"Um, Jake dropped me off on his way to Wren's," I lied.

"Okay, well Owen is in his room, go on up."

I walked up the stairs slowly and knocked softly on his door, trying to keep my emotions in check. Just breath, I told myself over and over again.

"_What_?" he grumbled.

I pushed the door open and saw him laying face down on his bed. It was like a weight being lifted off of my shoulders just to see him again. "Can I come in?"

His body tensed and he raised his head to look at me, his eyes were piercing, bright green, and very confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing what you asked. I'm going to tell you the truth, if you still want to hear it."

He sat up and leaned back against his headboard. "Of course I do, I just didn't expect you tonight."

"I didn't expect to come over tonight either, but my parents thought it would be a good idea to get this out in the open as soon as possible. Can I sit?" I motioned toward the bed.

He nodded and folded up his legs, making room for me. "Your parents? You mean Carlisle and Esme."

"No, I mean my parents, Bella and Edward."

He smiled and rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Ness. But be serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Well...No."

"I swear, Owen, nothing I say tonight is a joke. I will only tell you the truth."

His forehead crinkled as he decided if he was going to believe me. Instead of waiting for him to reply I just starting spilling everything. I wanted to get it all out before he could interrupt me.

"Bella and Edward are my parents, they met in high school. She was human, he was...not. They got married right out of school and didn't know that they would be able to have children, and then I came along. My mother almost died giving birth, and to save her my father had to turn her into what he is. So I'm only half human, and the rest of my family isn't human at all. But we're no threat to you, not really."

I knew that I'd only opened the door for more questions and had not really answered anything. But I hoped that he'd just pull a Grandpa Charlie and tell me that he didn't want to know anymore, and we could go on pretending like nothing happened.

"If you're only half human, what's your other half?" he asked calmly. So much for hoping.

I looked down at my hands twisted in my lap and whispered so low that I wasn't sure if he'd be able to hear me, "Vampire." The tears began stinging my eyes as soon as the word left my mouth, telling the secret was harder than I thought it would be. I felt like I was revealing too much of myself, like I was standing naked in the middle of the school cafeteria.

I heard him snort in disbelief. I looked up at the skeptical expression on his face, it washed away immediately when he saw the tears on my cheek.

"You're serious? Oh my God, you _aren't_ kidding. But...but, things like vampires aren't real! Nessie, this really isn't funny. Cut it out and tell me the truth."

"I am," I told him softly, looking back down at my hands.

"I don't believe you."

"Let's go for a walk and I'll prove it," I wouldn't want his parents or sister to burst in while I was showing off my unnatural abilities, or come running when they heard his screams. It was definitely best to take this outside. I got up and headed for the door and he followed. Good, at least he wasn't so terrified that he wouldn't be alone with me. He didn't really believe me though, so the terror was yet to come.

"What, are you going to drag me out to the woods and drink my blood?" he said sarcastically.

"That's really not funny," I snapped at him. We didn't pass any of his family as we slipped downstairs and out the back door. One of his many dogs bounded up to him and turned on its tail and ran the other direction as soon as he spotted me. Owen laughed and shook his head.

"I swear, I've never seen anyone who repelled animals like you do."

I raised an eyebrow, and looked at him pointedly, "I wonder why that is."

"Oh, right. Scary vampire, of course the animals don't like you."

"I'm getting a little sick of your sarcasm. There's no point in me telling you the truth if you aren't going to believe me. You saw me in the sun today, you tell me, did that look human to you?"

That shut him up quickly and we plodded along in silence until we were a few hundred yards into the forest behind his house. I stopped and turned toward him, slowly lifting my hand to his face. What should I show him? Nothing that would scare him too much. I let my palm rest against his cheek and thought of a baseball game with my family from last spring.

Owen took a sharp breath and let a string of expletives fly that would have made Uncle Emmett blush. Good thing that I'd taken him out of hearing range from his parents! I was so shocked that my hand dropped and I took a step back.

"I'm sorry," he stammered, "but hell, Nessie, a little warning might have been nice. What was that?!"

"Well, some of us have special abilities. That's mine. I was _trying_ to show you a memory of my family playing baseball, before I was so rudely interrupted. Would you like me to try again?"

"Uhh...sure."

I put my hand back onto his face and let the scene play out in my head, his eyes got wider and wider every time Aunt Alice threw the ball and it was hit into the surrounding forest. When I pulled my hand away again he just stood there and stared. I put my hand back up and began to think of all my favorite moments with him. The first day we talked in class, him meeting my family, laying in the garden, on the couch at Wren's, the first time he kissed me, dancing at the benefit, kissing in the front seat of his car.

"It's like watching a movie about us," he sighed.

"Do you believe me now?"

He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "I don't want to, and the rational part of my brain is telling me this is crazy...but I guess I do. I have about a million questions."

"Does this mean...do you think we'll be okay?" I couldn't help the hope from welling up inside me, was it really going to be this easy to make everything right?

"Yeah, Ness. I love you, all of you, even the crazy parts."


	20. Chapter 20

He loved me. I felt my already fluttering heart speed up even faster. "I love you too," I told him breathlessly. I leaned in to kiss him and was surprised when he pulled back slightly.

"I...I need some answers first, Nessie. I do love you, but there are things I need to know."

I could understand that, but it didn't make his pulling away from me hurt any less. I knew I'd have to do this, but my stomach began to twist into knots at the thought anyway. I walked over to a fallen log and sat down. "What do you want to know first?"

He started asking the basic questions, the ones I expected. Questions about our diet, about my ability, the other abilities in my family, how you become a vampire, and why being a half breed was so rare. He took all my answers in stride, only wincing slightly every once and awhile. He was incredibly proud that he'd figured out my fathers ability all on his own. I was surprised at how matter of factly we were able to talk about it all. After about an hour I noticed that the temperature was beginning to drop quickly and Owen had started to shiver.

"Do you want to go back to my house? You're freezing, and I think my family will be able to answer some of your questions better than I can."

"Your house?" he asked tentatively.

I laughed, "Oh so now you're scared? Being alone in the forest with me doesn't frighten you at all, but my house, where you've been a million times, is suddenly terrifying?"

"Uh..._yeah_. When I think of some of the things that went through my mind while Edward was in the room." He shook his head and started kicking at the dirt on the ground. "And then of course there's the whole vampire thing...'vegetarian' or not. But mostly it's Edward, he must hate me."

Leave it to my fathers mind reading to scare Owen more than entire family of vampires. I searched through my memories for a way to show him that my father didn't really hate him, even though it might seem that way. I settled on earlier today, and touched my hand to his cheek.

_'I know it must seem as if I don't like Owen, but that isn't the case. Overall I think he's very good for you. But do you know what the murder rate would be around the world if every father could hear the thoughts of their daughters boyfriends? It isn't anything personal against him.'_

"Fine," Owen mumbled when I pulled my hand away. "I'm still not thrilled about going over there, but if you think we should."

"I do. It's not my place to tell you their stories and their reasoning for the lifestyle we live. You need to hear some things from them."

We started walking hand in hand back toward his house, and he kept peppering me with little questions about hunting and other vampires. Nothing that was too difficult to answer. But then he got to the big one, one of the inquires I'd been dreading.

"So, you said vampires don't age. How old are your parents? And is the same true for you?"

I was actually shocked that this had not been one of his very first questions, but was glad to put it off as long as possible. I'd start with the explanation of my parents, that was easier.

"Well, once you're turned into a vampire, you stop aging, so if you look at it that way my father is 17 and my mother 18, and they will be forever. But I have a feeling that's not what you're getting at...." The truth, nothing but the truth, I had to keep telling myself. "If they hadn't been turned, my father would be 115 and my mother 27." For what felt like the 100th time that day, I braced for a horrid reaction. He knew that my mother had been changed because of my birth, so I stopped to let him figure out the math in his head. I could tell when he got it, because he dropped my hand and sounded like he was about to hyperventilate.

"So that means that you...you're only..."

"Eight," I told him.

"Oh my God, oh my God," he just kept saying over and over again.

"It's okay!" I tried to tell him. "Yes, I'm eight, but its only a number. You _know_ me, Owen, do I act eight? Or look it?"

He swallowed hard and leaned on a near by tree for support. "Obviously not. But still, this is so wrong. You're half my age! And what does this mean, is it the opposite of your parents? Since they stop aging do you age twice as fast?"

"No actually. I'm done aging. I'll be this way forever."

He blew a sharp breath out from between his lips, "So where does that leave me?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. It was a valid question, and one I'd thought of often in the past few weeks. I seriously doubted that right at this moment he wanted to hear there were very few options. "I guess we just keep going, and see where life takes us."

"You said Alice sees the future. Won't she know?"

"She might. I don't generally ask her things about my future, I'd rather not know. But you can ask her when we get to my house. If you're still coming, anyway."

"I might as well," he said. He started walking quickly, leaving me standing behind him. He was angry. Before I could think to move at a human pace, I ran in front of him, spinning around to look him in the face. His jaw dropped at my speed. I didn't care, his anger was making me furious.

"I don't get you Owen! I tell you I'm half _vampire_ and that I survive on _blood_ and you take that without blinking, but because I'm a little younger than you think acceptable you're going to be an ass?"

His green eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and fear. "You don't think that _all _of this has been hard on me?! I feel like I'm going insane! The girl I love, my girlfriend, is an eight year old _VAMPIRE!_" He shouted the last words so that they echoed through the forest. I stood there silently, not knowing what to say. He continued on in a whisper, "I love you, and you're basically telling me that this relationship is doomed, and it's barely started."

He looked to be on the verge of tears and I felt a jolt of pain in my chest. I had overestimated how well he was taking things, and my little outburst had caused him pain. "I'm sorry," I told him gently as I walked slowly to him and and wrapped my arms around his waist. I didn't even try to kiss him this time, not sure if I could take the rejection again.

"Let's go," he said into my hair. "I've got some questions for Alice."

When we pulled up to my house, Aunt Alice was sitting on the fountain waiting for us. "I saw that you had something to ask me," she said to Owen when we got out of the car.

"Uh, yeah. About me and Nessie."

Alice smiled serenely and said, "Right now, I'm getting a very clear image, but you don't know everything you need to know yet, so it could definitely change."

Didn't know everything he needed to know? I could only think of one thing that would freak him out more than anything he'd heard so far. Jacob. I pushed that to the back of my mind, he didn't need to know about that yet. Vampires and werewolves in one day would be too much for anyone. "So what are you seeing?" I asked Aunt Alice.

"You and Owen together in college, somewhere out east by the looks of it. Edward thinks it Dartmouth, he's thrilled!"

Owen and I just looked at each other with wide eyes. I had no idea what he was thinking, but all I could think of was whether or not he was still human in these visions. I asked Aunt Alice quickly so that Owen couldn't hear.

"Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. It changes," she replied.

My head was spinning and warring with itself again. I was beyond thrilled that things had the possibility of working out, but terrified for Owen and the circumstances that might lead us there.

"So, can you see anything else? Anything between now and then?" Owen asked.

"Nothing as concrete, and sometimes nothing at all. Like I said, things change quickly, every little decision affects the future. Ask me again next week and it might be totally different," she shrugged. "We should go inside, everyone is waiting."

I grabbed Owens hand as we walked into the living room and felt his pulse pounding. I could tell he was trying to keep himself calm with deep breaths. It didn't help that as soon as we walked in Uncle Emmett dropped all pretense of acting human and rushed to clap Owen on the back.

"Hey man! This is so cool, huh? Its awesome having a human in on everything. Bella was incredibly entertaining when she was human. Though you aren't as clumsy as she was and Nessie isn't as psycho as Edward was...Oh well I guess 3 battles in one decade is too much to hope for."

"_Battles_," Owen said, his face in a mask of shock.

"It's a long story," my father told him. As soon as Owen looked in his direction a grimace crossed his face and my father laughed humorlessly. "Funny isn't its? How when you're trying so hard not to think about certain things, they tend to push themselves to the front of your mind."

"Sorry, Sir."

I stifled a laugh and noticed that everyone else was doing the same, my dad included. Owen still looked terrified.

"No need to call me Sir. It might be a little awkward at school," my father told him, clearly amused.

Owen took his eyes off of my father and began to scan the room, looking at my family in a new light for the first time. I'm sure they looked different now that he knew the truth, the human mind tended to block out the strangeness as a kind of defense mechanism, but that filter would be gone now.

"You've explained it to him well, baby," my father said. But when Owens eyes stopped on Jake, sitting in the corner of the room, my father cleared his throat. "All except for that, I gather."

The confident look in Jakes eyes and the set of his mouth were making me nervous, like he knew that Owen would take off as soon as the truth about him was reveled. I could see Owen looking at Jake and back at my family, comparing their appearance, and noticing the obvious contrast in a different way than before.

Owen started to ask, "Jake? Are you...?"

"A bloodsucker?" Jake finished for him. "No, I'm not."

No, no, no! My mind was screaming, please not now. I looked beseechingly at my father and he just shook his head, "He deserves to know."

Owen turned back to me. "Deserve to know what, Ness?"

This was going to be a long night. I sat down and put my head in my hands, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. Where would I even start? And how could I best explain? He would need the whole story- the wolves, why they exist, and why Jake was here with us, his mortal enemies.

Before I could think of where to start, my mother did it for me. She launched into the story of the Quileutes, with Jake throwing in his two cents now and then. My mother loved the old legends, and had heard them countless times. With her perfect vampire memory, she told the story nearly as well as Billy. She finished when she got the the part about the treaty and Jake took over from there.

"A little over 10 years ago, the vampires came back, the same coven we made the treaty with. Their return set the wheels in motion and the wolves started to return to protect the tribe. I'm one of them, one of the protectors."

"Breath, Owen!" I had to elbow him before he passed out.

"I- I don't believe this. Is this some kind of joke?" He looked into my eyes, hoping to find any trace of humor that would give us away.

Jake got up and started walking toward the back door. I knew immediately what he was going to do. "_NO_. Jake, don't."

"Go ahead Jake," Dad said to him. "He's not going to believe unless he sees it for himself."

Owens hand was wrapped tightly around mine and had begun to sweat and shake. Was he about to have a mental breakdown? I hoped not, but it would be more than understandable. After a moment I saw Jake in his wolf form approaching the back window, still too far away in the dark for Owen to see. Jake jumped onto the porch and into the light. I could feel Owen begin to sway next to me. His face had gone ghostly pale and a sheen of sweat covered it.

"Get him a trashcan...something!" my dad yelled.

Grandma Esme had the kitchen trashcan in front of Owen in a flash, and it was just in the knick of time. I looked away as Owen got sick and shot dirty looks at Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose who were making disgusted faces. The sickness passed after a few minutes and I sat there rubbing Owens back as he placed his head between his knees.

"I've never gotten _that_ reaction before," Jake said lightly when he walked back inside. I glowered at him from my position on the couch. I could tell that he was positively giddy that Owen appeared so scared that he was ill. "Are you okay, dude?"

"I'm fine," Owen snapped.

Great. Was this going to end all the friendliness between them? They'd always gotten along well, but now that everything was out in the open I wasn't sure if it would be possible anymore.

Owen looked up at Jake suspiciously, "If the wolves and vampires hate each other so much, why are you here?"

"Nessie," was the only thing he said.

"What about her?"

"She's my imprint, I have to be wherever she is."

"Your _what_?" Owen asked with obvious irritation in his voice.

"Maybe I should explain this part," I broke in before Jake had a chance to speak.

"No, Nessie. He's going to hear it from me. He should know what he's up against."

I looked at my father and he nodded, so I just sat still and listened while Jake explained imprinting. Every so often, Owen would glance at me and back to Jake with an indeterminable expression on his face. I watched Aunt Alice and my father closely, if anything changed they would be the first to know. My father looked like he was concentrating intensely and Aunt Alice wore the same serene smile she had earlier.

When Jake finished, Owen looked confused and slightly ill again. "So, you two are soul mates? Is that what he's getting at?"

"No!" I said at the same time Jake exclaimed "Yes!"

"I have a choice in all of this, Owen. Jake is my best friend, always has been and always will be, but only I can choose to make it more than that. And I don't."

"But he'll always want you in that way?"

"Yes," I conceded quietly.

"But you chose me? Why? If he's supposed to be everything you want and need, why would you choose me?"

It was a good question, one Jake and my family had asked more than once. I didn't have a good answer. "I can't explain that, not the way you want me to. If I were to explain imprinting though, I would say that I guess I'm perfect for Jake, that's why he imprinted, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's perfect for me. I love him like he's my brother, but I just can't love him that way."

"Yes, it does mean I'm perfect for you and if you _tried_ to love me that way, you could!" Jake growled.

I sighed and looked at Owen, "None of this matters, what matters is that I love you. You have to trust me on that."

"I do," he smiled and took my hand.

Jake began to tremble, his hands in tight fists by his sides. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead he stormed out of the room, knocking over several lamps and a painting on his way out.

"He's going to kill me, isn't he?" Owen said to me under his breath.

My father heard him and said, "No, he won't. Not that he wouldn't like to, but it would hurt Nessie, so he would never. He's not giving up on her though, you've got competition."

"That's fine," Owen said with more confidence that I'd heard from him all night, "because I'm not giving up either."

Tonight hadn't gone as badly as I thought it might, but it definitely didn't end well. I knew if it ever came to any kind of physical fight, Owen would never stand a chance and that worried me.

"They won't fight, Ness, don't worry. Jake has more self control than you give him credit for, trust me. I know." My dad laughed and nudged my mother, who was watching me with a knowing, sympathetic look in her eyes.

**NOTE:** Hey everyone! I've been getting a TON of messages about poor Jake (and I'm sure I'll get more after this chapter..) So I just wanted to let you all know that he will be in the story more as things go along, I just needed to get through all of the Nessie/Owen stuff first! And I'm not a Jake hater, I promise...but every story has to have conflict somewhere! Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who comments, I appreciate it so much!


	21. Chapter 21

It was past midnight before Owen left, and I was mentally exhausted from the eventful day. I dragged myself up to my room and collapsed down on the bed, nearly jumping out of my skin when I heard Jake clear his throat from the window seat. What was with me today? I'd never been caught off guard so many times in my life!

He laughed, "It's just me, Ness. Don't have a heart attack, geeze. Jumpy much?"

"It's been a long day, and I'm tired. What are you doing in here? I thought you were mad at me."

"I'm not mad...at _you_," he mumbled. "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm fine," I snapped at him.

"No you're not," he prodded. I wanted to be mad at him, he hadn't made tonight any easier on me, but I couldn't muster up the energy to be angry.

"Really, I am," I sighed. "I'm just exhausted." I punctuated my point with a wide yawn. Jake got up, pulled a pair of pajamas out of my dresser, tossed them to me, and turned away so I could change without getting off the bed. I wadded up my sweater and jeans and threw them like a basketball toward the hamper in the corner. When I crawled under the covers he came and stretched out across the foot of my bed.

"Do you remember when you were little and I'd sleep like this every night?"

I smiled a bit to myself, "Yeah, I remember." I hadn't thought of those days a long time. The days where Jake and I were inseparable, even in sleep. The days before I had grown up and demanded my own "space". I hadn't known then that Jake was supposed to one day be more than my big brother and best friend. I let my mind wander back to that time, and I was surprised by how much I missed it.

He must have been thinking the exact same thing, because right as I thought it, he whispered, "I miss that."

I sat up on my elbows and looked into his dark eyes, noticing for the first time how different they were from Owens. They were older and wiser, but also more guarded. I realized that it had been ages since I'd seen them open and happy like they once were. "It can be that way again," I told him. "We can just be best friends, without the complications. I want that, so much. I _miss _that. I miss _you_."

He turned his face away from me, hiding his eyes. "No, Ness. It can't go back to that. My instincts tell me what is best for you, and just being your best friend isn't it. So even though you want it to be that way, it can't be."

"But it's so difficult this way! It's harder on everybody, me _and_ you!"

He looked back at me, and the determination was obvious in his face. "I'm sorry about that, but I'm not just giving up. I've fought this fight before, and I almost won. My desire to win this time is a million times stronger."

"Ew, I don't want to hear about you trying to get my mother!" I blurted out as I buried my face into my pillows.

I guess that broke the tension because he laughed and tossed a pillow at my head. "Go to sleep, crazy girl." I heard him get up and move towards the door, but I was asleep before he could close it behind him.

"Renesmee. _Renesmee_. Wake up sleepy head_, _you're going to make us late!"

"So. Tired. Go _away_," I moaned into my pillow.

"Don't make me send Jasper in here!" my mother threatened.

"UGH! _Fine_." I rolled out of bed and stumbled into my bathroom. It took me a moment to remember what had happened the day before, and I was surprised when I felt relief. A nights sleep had put things into perspective, so today I felt like a huge weight was off of my shoulders. I hoped Owen felt the same way, but for all I knew, he woke up more freaked out than before.

The rain was pounding against the windows and thunder rumbled low in the distance, from downstairs I could hear Uncle Emmett complaining about having to go to class instead of going out to play baseball.

"I really need to go to the hospital today, Emmett," Grandpa Carlisle told him. "And the others need to go to school, Edward has to make absolutely certain that Owen isn't saying anything to anyone." I knew Owen wouldn't tell our secret, but I understood why my family needed to take precautions.

I threw my hair up into a ponytail, not bothering to fix it since it was raining. I felt like wearing old jeans and a t-shirt, but I knew that Aunt Alice would throw a fit. I marveled at how well I knew her when I walked back into my bedroom. She had already made my bed and laid an outfit across it. I grudgingly put on the cream colored sweater dress and leggings, but tossed the kitten heels aside. Was Alice crazy? Shoes like that in this downpour? I pulled my Burberry rain boots out of the closet and put them on instead.

She only grumbled a little when I walked downstairs with my arms full of undone homework. She must have known that today was not the day to bother me about my choice of footwear. My relief was fading and a large knot in my stomach was taking its place and growing with every passing moment. I needed to see Owen to make sure he hadn't changed his mind. Maybe he had been in shock last night, and not able to fully realize what he was getting into. Everything could be different this morning.

The ride to school was quiet. My dad kept looking at me in the rear view mirror, obviously reading my worries and doubts, but not commenting on them. I scanned the parking lot for Owens car as soon as we rounded the corner, and it was there in its normal spot. The knot loosened slightly. At least he wasn't so scared that he was ditching school to stay away from me.

I didn't normally see him until lunch, so I walked into the building tense, knowing that I still had hours to wait. I was wringing the rain water from my sopping ponytail as I turned onto the hall where my locker was located, and skidded to a stop when I saw him leaning against it. He looked up and grinned at me. Relief flooded my body and I rushed over to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Walking my girlfriend to class," he smiled. "Where else would I be?"

"I don't know. I was just worried...you know...after last night and everything."

"You shouldn't have been worried. I woke up this morning and realized that none of that stuff matters. You're still you. Everything I love is still there."

I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't speak, instead I just rested my hand against his cheek and showed him how I was feeling. We stood there for a minute, lost in the intense emotion. The perfect moment was interrupted by my father, of course.

"Get to class you two," he grumbled as he walked by.

I narrowed my eyes and thought mean things about him that I knew he'd hear. He was so okay with Owen and I as long as our thoughts were somewhere besides on one another. Oh well, I was tired of trying to censor what I was thinking for his benefit, he'd just have to deal. I rolled my eyes and pulled Owen toward my Spanish classroom. Aunt Alice and my mother were waiting outside the door for me. I turned to get my books from Owen and gave him a kiss in the middle of the hall. A week ago, I never would have done that in front of my family, but now I just didn't care.

As soon as Owen walked away and toward his first class, my mother turned to me, "Was that really necessary?"

I whispered to her as we made our way to our seats, "You make out with Dad in the halls all the time!"

"That's different," she hissed. "We're married!"

"Oh, and I'm _sure _you didn't do more than hold hands until you were married," I hissed back quietly.

"You'd be surprised," Aunt Alice laughed. If my mother could blush she would have, instead she just scowled at Alice and let her hair fall over her face.

Owen was waiting outside each of my classes for the rest of the morning. I didn't mind one bit, I could definitely get used to having my books carried around and getting kissed every 50 minutes!

"Do you want to come home with me after school?" he asked on our way to lunch.

"Yeah, that'd be great! I'll ask."

Once we were in the cafeteria, I made my way over to my parents table. "Do you mind if I go home with Owen after school today?"

"Will his parents be home?" My father asked.

I sighed heavily, "I don't know. But I'm sure Amanda will be."

"A 12 year old girl is not a chaperone," my father scoffed.

"You've got to be kidding me. You'll hear everything that happens in our heads afterward anyway! And Alice can see us, remember?"

"She has a point, Edward," Uncle Jasper told him.

"Fine," he conceded. "But you better behave yourself, I'm hearing all kinds of thoughts about you two kissing in the hallways, and I don't like it. You're going to get yourself a reputation."

I just shook my head and walked away. I didn't care what anyone else thought, my family included. The lack of privacy was becoming more of an annoyance with each passing day. I met Owen in the line and walked with him as he grabbed a slice of pizza and a coke, watching carefully for any signs of nervousness. Lunch would be the first time he'd seen Jake since last night.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly when saw him notice Jake from across the room.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...Jake.."

He laughed and raised an eyebrow at me. "You think he's going to do something to me in the middle of the cafeteria?"

Good point. "Well, no...but still. You aren't worried about it being awkward?"

"No. We didn't do anything wrong. If he wants to make it that way fine, but if he expects me to run off because he thinks he's got some kind of weird claim on you, he's got another thing coming. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind for making you feel like you're doing something wrong by being with me."

I loved that he wanted to stand up for me, but that was definitely a bad idea. "I love you for that, really, but please don't. I don't think the other kids would take a giant shape shifting wolf as well as you did."

He laughed and followed me to our usual table, where the rest of our friends were already sitting. The tension was thick in the air, but I couldn't tell if the others had picked up on it yet. I'm sure Wren would, she was so annoyingly observant. And when she did, she'd say something. I'd just have to try to defuse it as much as possible.

"Hey guys!" I said brightly. "Did Jake and I miss anything good yesterday?"

"Only Owen being totally pathetic without you," Luke teased.

Jake snorted, "How could you tell a difference?"

I kicked Jake under the table, hard. So much for our friends not noticing. Owen narrowed his eyes slightly, but let it go. Thank God he had such an easy going nature. I could see Wrens eyes darting back and forth between Owen and Jake and I knew she was wondering what was going on. They were usually very congenial, and this sudden change was sure to be noticed.

I babbled on and on about nothing for the rest of lunch, hoping to distract from the glares Owen and Jake occasionally exchanged. The remainder of the hour passed uncomfortably, but also uneventfully. I would have been relieved when the bell rang releasing us for 5th period, but instead it sent me into a near panic. Gym was upon me. The class I had with both Owen and Jake. I had a feeling that the days of us having fun playing basketball or working on the free weights together were over.

I changed quickly, ignoring the meaningless prattle of the girls in the locker room, and rushed into the gym. I was hoping to beat the guys there, but of course, they were already warming up. Jake had a particularly nasty look on his face as he watched Owen ignore him.

"Behave yourself," I growled in his direction as I made my way to where Owen stood. I sat on the ground and started stretching, asking Owen to help push on my leg or back every now and then. I saw a sly grin spread across his face as I laid back and he held my calf in the air, pushing it toward my head.

"You better be glad Edward isn't here to listen to whatever it is you're thinking."

He just smiled bigger and kept helping me stretch. After we finished, he laughed, "Not that stretching you out wasn't fun, but the smile was more about the look on Jake's face watching me do it."

"I don't like that," I muttered. "I want you and Jake to get along. I don't expect you to be friends, but could you at least be civil? I don't like hurting him."

"I'll be perfectly civil if you'd like, but you can't expect me to sit back and take his crap like I did at lunch today. It's got to be a two way street."

Before I could answer, the coach blew his whistle. "Everybody listen up! If you played basketball yesterday, you can do weights or running today. Everyone who did weights and running yesterday, today is your day for basketball."

We all knew the rotation, and today was basketball for us. Jake was a captain today and got to pick teams, of course I ended up on his and Owen did not. I knew that it was going to be a disaster from the second the ball was tossed up, Jake slammed into Owen, ran down the court and scored a 3 pointer. I helped Owen up off the ground and eyed him apologetically as I ran after my team.

The game continued the same way for the next hour, Owen spent more time on the floor than playing. Finally the coach came out of his office and said we could go to the locker rooms. As my team celebrated the huge victory, I was too furious to join in. I rushed to Owens side and started examining the dark bruises that were already taking shape on his arms and legs.

"I'm fine," he kept saying over and over, even though he winced every time I touched him.

I turned to glare murderously at Jake, who was leaning against the far wall, watching Owens pain with immense satisfaction. Owen obviously saw, and started cursing under his breath, but then a determined and devious gleam lit up his green eyes. Before I could stop him, he crushed my body to his and started kissing me passionately. I gave in for a split second, before I realized what he was doing. Detaching myself from his arms, I gave him the same look I had been giving Jake only a moment before.

"What?" He asked with genuine surprise.

"Don't you _dare_ use me to make Jake feel bad. That's just as awful as what he did to you."

He looked mildly ashamed of himself, but not as much as he should. This was absolutely ridiculous, and I wasn't going to take it. I turned on my heel and walked away without another word. Tears of anger and frustration were stinging at my eyes, and Jake's juvenile snickering at my telling off Owen stopped when he saw one roll down my cheek. I looked back at the court before I opened the locker room door and saw the two of them glaring at each other with looks of intense hatred like I'd never seen.


	22. Chapter 22

I took my time changing and walked out into the hall, hoping that Jake and Owen were smart enough to _not_ be waiting for me. I was relieved when Aunt Alice appeared, even though she wore a concerned look on her face.

"Is everything okay? Owen found me and asked me to come walk to choir with you. He looked terrible."

"It's a long story. I'm upset, but it'll blow over." I already felt my anger fading as I thought about Owen searching for Alice just to make sure I had someone to walk to class with.

"Well, you can't be too mad, I still see you over at Owens this afternoon."

"Oh crap," I grumbled. "I forgot about that. I shouldn't go, just to teach him a lesson."

"No, you're definitely going," Aunt Alice replied confidently.

We were in the final stages of practicing for the winter concert in choir, so class passed quickly as we worked out the bumps in 'Carol of the Bells'. Thanksgiving break was next week, and the concert was the week after, so Mr. Barnes kept us singing through the entire hour. When the bell rang, Alice headed off toward her final class and I walked slowly toward English, thinking about what I should say to Owen, or if I should even talk to him at all.

As soon as I walked into class and saw him, all the anger I had been feeling evaporated and was replaced with shock. Alice wasn't kidding when she said he looked terrible. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and at least half of the exposed skin was covered in deep purple and yellow bruises from where Jake had slammed into him repeatedly. He looked ten times worse than he had at the end of gym class.

"Oh my God!" I gasped loudly. I didn't care that the entire class was staring at me as I made my way across the room to him. I dropped my books on my chair and knelt next to Owens seat, taking his arm in my hands. It was even worse up close, all swollen and knotted. He didn't meet my eyes and winced at my touch. "You need to see Carlisle," I told him.

"It's fine, really," He sighed.

Mrs. Cross entered the room and called the class to attention without noticing me on the floor next to Owen. I didn't care if he said it was fine, it didn't look fine to me at all. I got up and moved to the front of the room, prepared to muster all of my powers of persuasion to get her to let me take him to the hospital.

"Mrs. Cross?" I spoke quietly so that only she could hear, I could practically feel the entire class straining their ears trying to listen in. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Owen hurt himself badly in gym class and I think it needs medical attention. My uncle is an ER doctor, and I'd like to call him to come get us if you don't mind."

She looked like she was about to protest, until her eyes scanned over Owen and she saw the massive bruises. "Oh my," she said, her eyes wide with surprise and concern. "Yes, I think you're right. Please go to the office first and check out, and be sure to call Owen's parents as well."

Once we were safely out of the classroom Owen shook his head and finally looked me in the face, his jaw set in a rigid line. "That was humiliating, Ness. I'm fine!

"Don't lie to her, you know you're hurt."

"Dad!" I was so relieved to see him walk up behind us that I could have cried. "Please, you have to get us to the ER."

He nodded and led the way to the Volvo. It was still pouring outside, causing him to drive slower than normal, which caused me to fidget impatiently all the way to the hospital. Owen wasn't speaking, but I could imagine what he must be thinking by the way my fathers face alternated between an amused smile and a menacing scowl. Dad parked the car under the covered entrance to the emergency room and paused to listen as we walked in the door.

"He's in his office," he said, picking up on Grandpa Carlisles thoughts.

"This is a surprise! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in school?" Carlisle exclaimed after we knocked and opened the door. Owen was the last to walk in, and as soon as Grandpa Carlisle spotted him he understood. "What happened?"

Instead of rehashing the whole event out loud, I touched his face and showed him the basketball game. By the time I had finished, his usually kind face looked livid. He hated violence of any kind, so I knew Jake was going to get an earful tonight. Just so Grandpa wouldn't be too hard on him, I put my hand back up and showed him the stretching before class, and the kiss after. Though Jake had done the most damage physically, Owen wasn't innocent in this ordeal.

"Why did you show him that?" My father asked.

"Jake wasn't unprovoked, he doesn't deserve all the blame," I told them bluntly. Owen shifted uncomfortably in place.

"Let's get you off for some x-rays," Grandpa Carlisle said calmly to him. "You two can wait for me in here."

"This week just keeps getting better," I groaned, dropping into a chair after they had left the room. "Sorry you had to see all that stuff from gym class, Dad. I how much you hate it anytime Owen looks at me."

He half smiled and raised his eyebrows, "You don't think I was listening while you were in gym?"

I blushed angrily. "No I didn't think so. I thought my father respected my privacy enough to stay out of my head as much as possible."

"I wasn't in _your_ head. You knew that I had to keep tabs on Owen today."

"If you saw all of that happen, and saw how hurt he was, why didn't you do anything?" My voice was unsteady and tinged with ire.

"He's a big boy, and it's not my battle to fight. I'm very impressed at how he handled things though...well, minus that horribly inappropriate kiss, anyway. He could have done much worse."

I didn't want to talk about this anymore, so I didn't respond to what my father was saying. I just sat in silence, counting and recounting the books that lined the opposite wall. 258.

"The green and brown leather bound book on the second shelf is actually one, you've been counting it as two," he said after 20 minutes of ignoring one another.

I hissed and went back to counting. 257.

After what felt like an eternity of doing nothing but count I broke the silence with my thoughts. _'Do you really consider this thing between Jake and Owen a battle? Something that needs to be fought?'_

I could see him thinking over his answer carefully, trying to find the right way to put it. "_I_ don't, but I'm sure they do. I think you should be with whomever you choose, but I also think that you will eventually choose Jake." I opened my mouth to protest, but he put a hand out to stop me. "I'm not saying that you'll chose him right now, or next year...or even in 10 years. But at some point, you will. You're young and he's impatient, but eventually you'll be in sync."

"But what about what Aunt Alice sees?"

"You know how subjective that is. And she doesn't see you and Owen beyond college right now, so who knows?"

Before the conversation could continue any further, Grandpa Carlisle walked back in, closing the door behind him.

"Where's Owen?" I asked, eager to see him and make sure he was okay.

"He's getting dressed, a nurse will bring him by in a moment. I wanted to show your father some x-rays first."

He held the translucent sheets up to the light pointed to a few spots. I couldn't really tell what I was seeing, but the look on my fathers face told me it wasn't good. I started feeling panicky. "What? What is it?"

Grandpa Carlisle sighed and shook his head, "It's nothing too serious, but it's worse that I thought. His arm is only sprained, but he has severe deep bruising over a large portion of his body. He also has 3 fractured ribs on his left side. There really isn't anything we can do about any of it other than give him some pain medication."

"He's pretty tough," my father stated. "I heard pain in his thoughts, but not enough to allude to anything this bad."

I felt like I was going to be sick. Did Jacob know how much damage he had caused?

My dad answered my thoughts, "Definitely not. He was just trying to rough him up a bit and intimidate him. Jacob would never do this on purpose."

I believed him, and I knew Jake would feel horrible when he found out what he'd done, but I couldn't help being upset. My boyfriend was in the hospital, and I was indirectly to blame. "There's really nothing you can do other than give him pain pills? Nothing that might make him better, faster?"

Grandpa Carlisle sifted through a drawer full of pamphlets and handed me one. "This might help ease some of the pain and make the swelling go down more quickly."

I looked at the thin booklet- "Firstaid: Bruise Treatment". I folded it and put it in my pocket for later. I quickly tried to formulate a plan to convince my father that I should stay the night at Owens to care for him, I knew John and Karen wouldn't mind...

"Out of the question," he said before I could even get the whole sentence through my head.

"Daddy, he's going to _need_ me. What could we do with him in that condition anyway? Please, Dad, please?" I gave him my best pleading, sad puppy dog eyes, and the face I knew he couldn't refuse.

Grandpa Carlisle laughed lightly, "You're a goner now Edward, just spare us all and give in."

Dad huffed his agreement, and I ran to hug him. "Thank you," I whispered into his shirt. I saw him squint his eyes and tilt his head, looking past me and toward the door. "What is it?" I asked.

"A nurse is bringing Owen in a wheelchair, I guess he had trouble getting dressed because of his ribs. She insisted on the chair and Owen is _not_ happy about it. I hope he doesn't use language like that around you."

I ignored him for the umpteenth time that day and listened closely as the squeaky wheels rolled closer to the door. About 10 feet away I heard Owen ask the nurse, "Can I please get up and walk the rest of the way...or just let me get up right outside the door. _Please_." He begged a bit more, and the nurse finally relented. I heard him groan in pain as he stood up, but refuse the chair she pushed toward him. "I'm _fine,_" He grunted.

I couldn't stand it anymore, I opened the office door and marched into the hallway. He was standing with one hand braced against the wall a few feet away, a look of pain marring his features. "Owen Ross, sit back down in that wheelchair _right now_. Don't hurt yourself because you're too proud. If you don't sit down, I _will_ carry you, and you know I'm not joking."

He gave me a nasty look, but sat down. The nurse rolled him the rest of the way to me and then starting walking back toward the nurses station, chuckling as she went. "She told him..." I heard heard her muttering under her breath.

"Well, it looks like you're all ready to go. Nessie is obviously going to be a proficient caretaker." Grandpa said to Owen as I pushed him toward the exit.

The car ride to his house was quiet. I sat reading the pamphlet on bruising, while Owen sulked and Dad stared sullenly ahead at the road. Luckily John and Karen weren't home yet, so I'd have a little bit of time to formulate an excuse for why their son had been beaten to a pulp. I was wondering how I was going to get Owen up to his room without having to carry him (an idea he would surely shoot down as soon as it left my mouth) when Dad pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

"I'll bring his car by later, so just know that I'll be nearby." He said as Owen took his time getting out of the backseat.

I rolled my eyes and huffed, "_Okay_, Dad. I'll call you tonight and let you know how everything is going."

"Be good, you two," he told us as I wrapped my arms around Owen to help him to the door.

"He's going to be sitting in my front yard listening to us all night, isn't he?"

"I'd place money on it," I scowled.

Once inside I steered Owen toward the stairs. "This might take awhile," he flinched.

"It doesn't have to..." I held my arms out to him.

"No way. I'm way too heavy for you."

I pointed to myself, "Half vampire, remember?"

"I know...but, its still weird." He made a move to start up the stairs, but ended up gasping and gripping the banister 2 steps up.

Men. I swear they are the most stubborn creatures alive. Before he could protest, I gently scooped him up in my arms, careful of his ribs and bruises. I couldn't tell if the look of pain on his face was from his injuries or the fact that his girlfriend was carrying him up the stairs. I laid him down in his bed with a satisfied smile on my face.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?"

"Ugh," was the only response I got, so I set about making sure that he was as comfortable as possible. I arranged his pillows, got him extra blankets, a glass of water for his pills, and the remote for his TV. When I was finally satisfied that he was fully situated, I grabbed a few ice packs and wrapped them in towels.

"My instructions say to ice your bruises for 30-40 minutes at a time for two days and then apply gentle heat to them a few times a day. The heat will definitely be easier," I said brushing my warm hands across his forehead. "Which bruises hurt the worst? We'll start there."

"Here," he said touching the side of his stomach. "And there." He pointed to a spot a few inches above his left knee.

"Okay...well...jeans and a sweater aren't really going to work for this, do you have a pair of shorts somewhere?" I was blushing furiously at the thought of having to change his clothes, and I couldn't believe that my father hadn't realized it would have to be done. Surely he would have stayed to help me if he had. I breathed a sigh of relief when my phone rang, a few minutes to gather my thoughts would be good. I stepped out into the hallway.

"Hello?"

"It's Alice. You better be glad I'm out shopping and not at home. Your father would go ballistic if he saw what you're about to do."

"I just need to get him into some shorts so I can put ice on his bruises, Aunt Alice. I swear."

"And you're going to be there all night?"

"Yes, and probably the whole weekend. Why?"

She paused and made a popping noise with her lips, like she was impatient or irritated. "Well, then I think I need to take a weekend shopping trip to LA...for all our sakes."

"Alice, you are the best! What do I owe you for this favor?"

"I'm not really doing it for you this time, I'm doing it for Edwards sanity."

I thanked her anyway and hung up the phone, returning to the bedroom. "Alice saw me stripping you down, she was concerned," I smiled.

"Too bad it's under these circumstances," he joked and pointed to a drawer that held his basketball shorts and undershirts. I took one of each and set them on the end of the bed.

"This isn't going to be pleasant," I said as I helped him sit up so I could pull the sweater over his head.

"Oh, I know. I already had to do it once at the hospital...and then put it all back on again. If you'll just pull gently when I tell you to, it should be okay."

He held his arms at an odd angle above his head and cringed. "Okay, go."

I pulled the sweater off as quickly and easily as possible, and he only elicited a minor grunt of pain. I very nearly broke out in tears when I sat back to look at him. What would have been a perfectly smooth and sculpted chest was marred with huge bruises and swelling.

He noticed the horror on my face. "Maybe I can do the pants by myself."

"Don't be silly. I just wasn't expecting it to look so bad. Come on, lets get your t-shirt on."

Getting his pants off was harder than the sweater, and I almost wished that I had let him try to do it himself. His legs looked just as awful as every other part of his body, and I couldn't help the tear that slid down my cheek. I wiped it away before he could notice. After 30 minutes he was finally wearing more comfortable clothing, and I was mentally exhausted.

I laid down next to him, held the ice to his bruises, and lightly placed small little kisses on his shoulder- the non black and blue parts anyway.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "Now this...this isn't so bad."


	23. Chapter 23

The pain medication Owen had taken at the hospital was doing its job, and he quickly drifted off to sleep. I wanted to fall asleep all curled up in bed with him, but didn't want to leave his nasty bruises unattended. So every thirty minutes like clockwork I shifted the ice packs and made sure he was as comfortable as possible. I had been keeping up the ritual for nearly two hours when I heard a car turn into the driveway. I could tell immediately that it was the Jetta and I wondered what had taken my father so long to bring it by.

Careful not to wake Owen, I slipped out of bed and made my way out to the front yard. I was surprised when it wasn't my father waiting for me by the car, but Uncle Jasper. Why was he here? Dad had seemed quite intent on bringing the car back and supervising us for awhile, why had he changed his mind?

"Hey Uncle Jazz, where's Dad?"

"Uh...well.." he mumbled.

I couldn't tell if the discomfort I was feeling was my own, or being projected by Uncle Jasper. Something definitely felt wrong though.

"What is it?"

"Edward told me not to say anything, but I feel like you should know. Maybe you'll know where he went."

This couldn't be good. "Where _who_ went?"

"Well..."

"JASPER! Spit it out, I'm starting to freak a little bit here!"

A torrent of words starting rushing from his mouth, even with my exceptional hearing I had a hard time catching it all. "Edward and Carlisle confronted Jake about today. When he found out what he'd done he was really upset...more for you than Owen, of course, but upset none the less. He got in the rabbit and drove off, we've been looking for him for hours."

Three deep breaths, and then three more to keep myself from hyperventilating. Jake driving off in a huff wasn't something that had never happened before. If my family was so worried about finding him there must be something else that Uncle Jasper wasn't telling me. I knew Jakes moods better than anyone, maybe he wasn't as upset as they all thought. "What exactly did Dad and Grandpa Carlisle say?"

"They asked him what he was thinking, doing that in front of so many witnesses. He didn't know he'd hurt Owen so badly and he asked if you were okay. Edward said him you were, but then pretty much told him what was what."

"What do you mean by 'told him what was what'?"

Uncle Jasper took a deep breath and I could feel my anguish being projected back at me, along with his guilt for revealing what he wasn't supposed to. "Edward told him that he was pushing you further into Owens arms by behaving that way, and if he continued to act like a hormonal bullying teenager he didn't deserve you."

Not that this wasn't bad enough, but I could tell there was more. "Anything else?" I asked.

Jasper grimaced and continued, "Yeah...he said that he'd always been pulling for Jake to end up with you, but after today he wasn't so sure. Even though Owen wasn't blameless, today he had acted more like a man worthy of his daughter."

The panic was back in full force. What was my father thinking?! Of course saying that would push Jake over the edge that he was already barely holding on to. It took me less than a minute to formulate a plan. First things first, call the pack. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Leah's number.

"Hello?" I heard her satiny voice say through the receiver.

"It's Nessie, have you heard from Jake?"

"_NO_. Your mother has been calling every 20 minutes. He's not in wolf form and he hasn't called. What is going on?"

"My Dad pissed Jake off and nobody has been able to find him for a few hours, I just found out. Call me if you hear anything okay?"

I hung up before I heard her reply. I didn't really have time to listen to her gripe about my family hurting Jake...again. The next call I made was to Wren's house, perhaps he'd gone there.

She answered after the first ring, "Bella?"

"No, it's Nessie. Has Bella been calling you?"

"She called once, looking for Jake, and sounded really worried. Does this have anything to do with him kicking the crap out of Owen in gym?"

"How do you know about that? And he didn't beat him up or anything...he just knocked into him a little too hard once or twice." That wasn't exactly the truth, but the truth would be too hard to explain.

She snorted into the phone, "That's not what everyone at school was saying."

"_Great_, well...I really have to go. Call me if you hear anything!"

I hung up and started racking my brain for places Jake might go. I could think of only a few, most of them spots out in the forest where we would go to spend a few quiet hours. He wouldn't have needed his car to get there, though. I'd have to go look anyway.

"Uncle Jasper, I've got to make another call inside. Go help look for him okay?" Better if I didn't tell him I was going out alone, my father wouldn't like that at all.

"Ness...what are you up to?"

"Nothing, I just need to get back to Owen. Talk to you later." He gave me a look that told me he knew that I was going to be doing something I probably shouldn't, but left anyway. I tore into Owens house and began flipping through a notepad by the phone in the kitchen, looking for Karen's cell phone number. It was nearly 7 o'clock, why wasn't she home yet!? I found what I was looking for and dialed quickly.

"Karen? It's Nessie," I said as soon as I heard her pick up.

"Nessie? Whats the matter?"

"Well, I was planning on telling you or John when you got home, but I expected you earlier and I've got a bit of a situation at my house to deal with, so I have to leave. Owen was hurt in gym class at school today. It's nothing too serious...he looks much worse than he actually is," I lied.

"What happened?" She didn't sound terribly concerned, boys hurt themselves all the time playing sports. Maybe I should prepare her for what he looked like so she didn't freak out as soon as she opened his door.

"A game of basketball got a little too rough. He fractured a few ribs and he's really bruised up. My uncle saw him and said that there really isn't anything that can be done. He'll be up and moving around in a few days, and fully recovered in a couple of weeks. I'm so sorry, I should have called you earlier."

"Oh my God! Fractured ribs? I'll be home in 15 minutes, I just have to pick up Amanda from a friends house. John is in Seattle for a meeting tomorrow or he would have been home." She sounded appropriately worried now.

"Owen is okay right now, he's sleeping. I've got to head home, so I'll leave a list of instructions in the kitchen. I should be back sometime tonight, and was planning on staying the weekend to take care of him. If that's alright with you."

"Of course, hon. You're welcome to stay anytime. Tell Carlisle thank you for me."

I wrapped up my conversation with Karen and scribbled out a note to leave for Owen. I told him enough so that he'd know what I'd said to his mother, but not so much that I'd give anything away if she found the note first. I rushed upstairs to leave it on the pillow next to him. I pushed a soft brown curl off of his forehead and gave him a kiss. "I'll be back before you know it," I whispered.

I groaned inwardly when his eyelashes fluttered open and he asked in a rough sleepy voice, "You're leaving?"

"Yes, sweetie, but just for a little bit. Something has come up and I've got to go, but your mom is almost home and she'll take care of you."

"But I want _you_ to take care of me."

I was torn between feeling guilty for leaving and wanting to laugh at how needy sick men could be. "I won't be gone long, okay? Just go back to sleep."

His eyes drooped closed and I doubted that he'd even remember this conversation at all. I tiptoed back downstairs and left the pamphlet and bottle of pain pills Grandpa Carlisle had given me on the kitchen counter for Karen.

Before long I was deep in the pitch black forest where Jake and I hunted. I ran to a small waterfall he found several months ago. He'd called it a peaceful place, so maybe he'd decided to return. No luck. I ran to no fewer than 10 places where we'd been before and might carry some sort of significance, still I had no luck.

I was almost positive that he wasn't in the forest, so I made my way into town. I checked all his favorite restaurants, a few car dealerships he liked to browse through when we had time to kill, the gym that we were members of but never used, I even went to the mall. He wasn't anywhere.

I'd been looking for over an hour, and felt confused and dejected. Where had he gone? I wasn't ready to give up yet, but I didn't know where else to go. I was walking at a human pace down a nondescript neighborhood street a few blocks from the shopping center when I saw it. The Rabbit was parked in a driveway a few blocks down. I looked more closely around me and realized that I had been down this street before, only once, when Jake and I had taken Rory and Luke home from Wren's one night. I must have been subconsciously walking a route I knew.

I was curious as to why he'd chosen to come here, of all places, when he was so upset. He and Luke were friends, but that extended to car talk and hanging out at Wren's house...not much further. He'd always seemed to like Rory better anyway.

I wanted to know what was going on, so instead of knocking on the door or calling my family to tell them I'd found Jake, like I should have done, I crept around to the backyard. I knew I'd have to be careful or he'd hear me, and thankfully it was too cold to have windows open or he would have smelled me by now. I couldn't hear anything other than a TV commercial coming from inside. I rounded a corner and was finally able to see through a pair of sliding glass doors into the living room.

I nearly fell over backward. I had expected Luke, maybe Rory, and Jake to be lounging around watching some stupid show...basically doing what they always did at Wren's. Instead I found just Jake and Rory, no one else appeared to be home. He was laying across the couch with his head in her lap, looking intently into her eyes while she had her fingers tangled in his hair. What the hell.

I couldn't explain the complete unbridled rage that overcame me just then, but it took all I had to reign it in. My mind was warring with itself, like it so often did. I went back and forth between calling Rory every dirty name in the book, to reminding myself of all the things I really liked about her.

'_What is that bitch doing touching _MY _Jacob?!_'

'_Don't I want Jake to be happy with someone else? Rory would be wonderful for him.'  
__  
__'__MY _Jacob, _MY_ Jacob' kept rattling around in my brain. I knew deep down that this was beyond selfish of me, I'd made my choice. But I'd never known anything other than Jake being completely devoted to me. Now that it was looking me in the face, the idea of not having Jake around was much less appealing than it once was. A million questions followed this revelation I'd just uncovered. How long had this been going on? Why did neither of them tell me? Could he ever even _really_ love her, if I was still his imprint? Had he kissed her?

I shuttered and knew that one person would know the answers to at least some of those questions. I took one last look, rushed quietly back out to the street and ran home at full speed. I saw my father sitting on the front steps as I approached the house.

"Your thoughts are particularly loud tonight, I heard you coming from quite a distance," he told me when I stopped right in front of him.

"What did you know, Dad? What weren't you telling me?"

"I don't know as much as you think I do. Nothing must have happened before tonight. He's never been over there before, other than that one time with you. I never even thought to look for him there, so obviously I don't know much."

"There must be more than that," I said to him.

"Well...I have heard her in his thoughts, wondering what would happen if they could be more than just friends. It was never more than just idle daydreaming though, that's why this is rather surprising." He paused for a moment and and motioned for me to sit down. "You seem to be taking this hard."

I didn't want to sit and chat. "I need to get back to Owen. I'm still planning on staying all weekend if you'd like to come spy on us," I said with more vitriol than necessary.

"No, that's alright, I need to call everyone and tell them the hunt for Jake is off. And besides, I'm not worried anymore. Would you like a ride?"

"I'll run. I just need to grab some stuff first." I ran upstairs and threw a few days worth of clothes into a bag and raced out the front door without stopping to speak to my father again. I took off down the drive, cursing under my breath as I heard him say happily after me, "Have fun!"

I knew what he thought. He thought this was some kind of turning point, and now that I'd seen Jake with someone else, I'd realize what I was missing and blah, blah, blah. I couldn't confront those feelings right now. I pushed them down to deal with at a later time, when my head was clearer. Right now I just needed to focus on Owen.

I knocked lightly on the Ross's front door and Amanda answered. Instead of greeting me, she merely pointed up the stairs and walked back to the television. Her cold shoulder would have normally bothered me, but not tonight. I just needed to see him and I'd know if I was doing the right thing.

I walked up the stairs and stood with my back pressed against the wall of the hallway outside his room, giving myself a moment to gather my thoughts and take my requisite three deep breaths. I finally sucked it up and went to open the door. I guess I was expecting him to be asleep, so it took me off guard when I walked in and he was sitting up in bed reading a book while his mother thumbed through a magazine at the desk.

"You're back!" His face lit up so beautifully when he saw me that I felt bad about having any doubts at all.

"Of course I'm back. You look so much better! Obviously your mom is a better nurse than I am," I laughed.

"Doubtful," Karen said, "I've just been sitting here rotating ice every so often. He asked for you the second he woke up."

"Nessie can take over now, Mom. Thanks for keeping me company."

She laughed and gathered her cell phone and magazine from his desk. "I guess that's my not so subtle cue to get out. Let me know if you kids need anything."

After she closed the door behind her I dropped my stuff on the floor and went to inspect Owen. Though he was awake and appeared to be feeling well, his body looked just as awful. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, the pain pills are good, so I'm alright as long as I don't move much. The ice has stopped making anything feel better, though."

"We can lay off the ice for tonight I think," I said as I set myself down gently onto the bed next to him.

"So where'd you have to go?"

I hadn't really thought about what I was going to tell him, but the truth had been working for me lately, so I might as well stick with it. "My father made a few unpleasant remarks to Jacob, and he took off. No one could find him for a few hours, so I went out to help look."

"Did you find him?" There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice, though how that could be possible was beyond me. If I were Owen I'd be saying 'good riddance' to all things Jake.

"Yeah, I did. He was at Rory and Luke's house."

"Oh, weird that he went there instead of Wren's."

"Not really," I told him. "I think he and Rory have something going on."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" The anger in his voice surprised me. "After all the crap he put you though, making you feel guilty and knocking me into a pulp, it was that easy for him to go find someone else? What happened to the 'I'm never giving up' crap? Not that I want to have to fight him for you, but what kind of moron is he to give you up so easily?"

"I don't really think it's like that. I don't know what's going on, but I do know that this can't be easy for him. Besides, I'm not even 100% sure that anything is going on at all." I realized that I sounded a little defensive, and saw that he noticed it too.

"Are you upset that he might be interested in Rory?" He asked so quietly that I barely heard him.

Yes. But how to explain it without freaking Owen out, when I could barely explain it to myself. "You have to understand that Jake has been with me, exactly how he his now, pretty much everyday since I was born. There's only been this odd tension between us for the past year or so, before that he was my absolute best friend. He's friends with my mother, and his pack mate, Leah...but for eight years, I've been _the_ girl in his life. It's difficult for me to imagine not being that girl anymore, even though it's what I've wanted."

I wasn't sure how Owen was going to react to that, the expression on his face was so difficult to read. He looked at me for a moment, his brow furrowed...in anger, confusion, frustration? I didn't know.

"I want you to be _the_ girl in _my_ life. I can't promise you eternity, I'm not immortal, but I can promise you that I'll be here as long as you want me. I know I'm normal and dull in comparison, but I love you as much as he does. I'm sure of that."

I didn't know what to say. Not only because what he said was so achingly sweet, but because his love and Jake's love were so different. I knew that they were both pure and intense, but still different in a way that Owen could never grasp. Despite that, for the first time I felt the acute desire to make Owen immortal so that I could keep him forever. Right now, I was secure in my choice.

"I love you so much," I told him with the emotion thick in my voice. I moved my body closer to his, careful to avoid pressing against his bruises.

"Damn bruises," he muttered.

"I was just thinking the exact same thing," I laughed. I would have been content to lay there for awhile but he yawned hugely."Are you getting tired?"

"Yeah, I took some meds right before you got here, they're definitely starting to take effect."

I helped him scoot further down under the covers and then left to change into my pajamas, happy that I'd grabbed my favorite cotton shorts and clingy black tank top. I went back into his room, glad that he was still awake for a few minutes at least. When I flipped the light off, I felt the flutter of butterflies in my stomach. What was that about?

"Are you sure that you don't need anymore ice?" I asked from across the room.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Anything to drink?"

"No thanks, I've got a glass of water."

"Do you need any extra pillows?"

"Nessie! What is the matter? I'm perfectly comfortable, will you just come to bed already?"

I was inexplicably nervous. Obviously we wouldn't be doing much other than sleep, since Owen could hardly move, but this still felt like something big. How many times had I stopped to take three deep breaths today? This was my 15th time at least.

I crossed the room and pulled back the covers, climbing into bed next to him. He reached his arm out and grabbed my hand.

"You don't have to stay all the way over there you know."

"I know," I said without moving.

He laughed lightly and then sighed, "Ness, how many times have we laid in this bed and taken a nap? What is it about doing the same thing at night that is making you so uncomfortable?"

"It just feels different, don't you think? Like this takes us to a whole different level or something."

I could see his face clearly in the dark, but I don't think he knew that, because I saw him roll his eyes heavily. "Not even 15 minutes ago I said that I love you so much I would spend my entire life with you, and laying next to each other in the dark feels more momentous than that?"

I saw his point when he put it that way. I was being silly. I scooted closer to him and rested my hands lightly against his chest. "Does that hurt?"

"The opposite actually. The heat feels wonderful after having ice on it all day."

I slowly felt my way down his chest and to the hem of his t-shirt, sliding my hand underneath it and to the worst of his bruises. He sighed contentedly as the warmth of my hand relaxed him. I took my other hand and rested it against his cheek, feeling him shudder as he felt my emotions and saw what was on my mind.

"You can't do this to me when I can't move. It isn't fair," he said in a voice even raspier than normal.

"You don't have to move," I whispered into his ear before kissing it lightly. I turned his face toward mine and pressed our lips together, letting my other hand brush over his chest. I could feel his heart rate accelerating and it caused mine to do the same. He cringed slightly as he moved his arm around me and pulled me closer by the small of my back.

"Don't hurt yourself. I told you that you didn't have to move," I said against his lips.

"But I _have_ to touch you," he mumbled back. His lips began to crush into mine with an intense need, and I gladly gave into them. I didn't mind that we were getting carried away, I wanted to get carried even further. To his obvious astonishment, I positioned my body over his in one quick movement, careful to keep my weight off any of his sore spots.

He started to say something to stop me, but just let the words trail off into silence as I bent my head down and started kissing his neck. He moved his hands to my waist then down under my shirt to my hips, his thumbs sending chills through me as he massaged small circles in my skin. This was heaven. Every move was careful and deliberate, almost in slow motion, as I tried not to hurt him.

How far was he going to let this go? How far would _I_ let it go? I decided that the ball was in his court...I wouldn't stop if he didn't. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my phone light up from the bedside table, a half second later I heard the trilling ring. I was tempted to just throw it against the wall, but I knew who it would be, and I hated to think who she might call if I didn't pick up.

"Hold that thought," I told Owen in a low voice, swinging my body back onto the mattress and picking up the offending cellphone.

"Hello, Aunt Alice." I laid back into the pillow and watched Owen as she began to shriek at me.

"_Renesmee Carlie Cullen_!! What do you think you're doing!? Do you have any idea what I just saw?"

"I have an idea. Was it any good?" I said, only half joking.

"This is not funny. I should have never stayed out of town. I can't believe this....what would your father and mother think? I cover for you all the time because you are a responsible, mature girl and _this_ is how you repay me...."

I tuned out the endless stream of judgment and put my focus back where it belonged. 'I love you' Owen mouthed silently, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. I raised one eyebrow coyly, 'Do you?' I mouthed back. He nodded, and with an amused look on his face he leaned into my neck, kissing and nibbling down to my collarbone. I giggled as he brushed his hand across my stomach.

"That's _IT_!!" I heard Alice screech. "If this vision in my head does not change in the next 5 minutes I'm calling Edward!"

Well that definitely put a damper on things, not that he wouldn't find out about this anyway. I hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the table.

"I take it Alice isn't too happy?" Owen said into my hair.

"Nope."

He looked up at me and his eyes were confused. "Would you really have let it go that far?"

"I was going to let it go as far as you took it," I told him.

"Funny...I was doing the exact same thing." He paused for a moment and then grinned. "How long do you think your father would have left me alive?"

"Long enough for you to suffer greatly."

He knew I wasn't joking, but he laughed anyway. The phone call from Aunt Alice had put an end to the mood, so I guess it had served its purpose. It was probably a good thing anyway, today had been an emotional day, and any decision was likely to be made a little irrationally. Maybe some other time would be better. Owen was already drifting off to sleep in a haze of pain medication, so I curled up against him and let his steady heartbeat lull me to sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

I could see the bright morning light from behind my eyelids, and forgot for a second that I wasn't in my room at home. I smiled slightly when I remembered where I was. I stretched slowly, trying not to jostle Owen and wake him. Cracking open one eye I looked at the clock, it was 10:16. Crap! It was Friday, I should be at school right now! I whipped my head around and saw Owen staring at me, deep lines etched into his forehead.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Watching you. You talk in your sleep."

I sighed heavily. Yet another annoying human trait I'd inherited from my mother, though I normally just babbled nonsense. "Did someone call me into school? I'm really _really _late."

"My mom called us both in," he told me. "Besides, it's sunny. You wouldn't have been able to go anyway."

Well that was a relief, but the intense, concerned gaze Owen had fixed on me was quickly making me self conscience. I looked down at myself and gasped, beams of sunlight filtered in through his window and over my bare legs and arms, causing them to shimmer. I flung the comforter over me. "Sorry, I know that's a little strange."

"Don't cover up, I like how you look in the sun. Don't you want to know what you said while you were sleeping?"

"I actually said stuff?!"

"Um hum," he nodded. "You started off with a nice little recap of last night...all the good parts." His forehead temporarily smoothed out and he smiled.

I blushed deeply and put my hands over my eyes. "_Great_, then what?"

Through my fingers I saw the concerned look return to his face. "You talked about Jake."

Of course I did. "You know that what I say in my sleep doesn't mean anything. Yesterday was intense, it figures that I'd say something about him. I'm sure I don't mean it though."

"I didn't even tell you what you said, and you're already sure you don't mean it?"

UGH. This was not the kind of conversation I liked to have two minutes after waking up. "What did I say?" I asked, still not moving my hands from covering my face.

"Well, at first you were saying that you hate him. But then 'I hate Jake' turned into 'My Jake' and you started to cry."

I lowered my hands. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "I don't like seeing you like that. I don't like hearing it either...but mostly I just hate to see you upset."

"It does bother me, this thing with Jake, but you're still the one I want. You believe me don't you?"

He looked at me intently for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I believe you. I guess I don't understand _why_ though. Why would you rather be with me? Actually...I guess my question is more why _don't_ you want to be with him? He can be with you forever, I can't. What do we have? 15, maybe 20 years before people start to look at me like I'm a pedophile."

The look in his eyes almost broke my heart, but the truth in his words was even worse. I could probably pass for 20 if I tried, and older men dated girls that age all the time, but we could never have any kind of normal life or relationship. My boldness from the night before was still lingering, so I decided to tell him the few options we actually had.

"The way I see it, we've only got a couple of choices. Live our lives like this...halfway normal...with you human and growing old. I'd stay with you as long as you wanted me too of course." I paused briefly, and made the split second decision to just spit it out. "The only other way is to have someone in my family change you."

He never broke eye contact with me, and I could hear his pulse accelerate. "Which way would you prefer?" he forced out breathlessly.

"The way that lets me keep you forever," I told him truthfully. His eyes glazed over and I thought he was about to pass out. "Owen? _Owen?!_" He was just staring, his pulse still racing.

After an eternity of waiting for him to gain control of his motor skills, he finally spoke shakily. "You want _me_ to be a _vampire_?"

"You asked, and I promised myself after you found out about my family that I would be truthful with you from then on. So that's the truth, I want you forever."

Then we just sat there, me sitting cross legged on the bed, him laying back into his pillows with a look of utter shock and terror on his face. Every so often I'd glance at clock. 10:28. 10:36. 10:49. 11:00 rolled around and over half an hour had passed with neither of us saying a word.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when at 11:03 he spoke. "Let's do it."

"Do what?" I asked stupidly, thinking for a moment that he meant something else. Then it hit me...he wanted to be turned into a vampire. I had expected far more reluctance on his part.

"Turn me into...well, you know. Come on, lets go." Pain crossed his face as he tried to swing his legs out of bed. I laughed and pushed him back down gently.

"Right now? Are you crazy? First of all, getting anyone in my family to do it is going to be a job in itself. Second, I would never let you do this without having _all_ the facts first. There are all kinds of unpleasant truths about this life, and you'd need to tie up some loose ends first as well."

He looked dejected, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was so eager because he was worried he'd change his mind. As much as I'd love for him to become part of my family right this very second, I knew we had time. We could easily wait until he was 19 or 20, which would put us close to the same age physically, forever. Unless the Volturi somehow became involved, then it would be much sooner. I shuddered at the thought.

He shifted his weight slightly and I saw the pain on his face again, causing me to remember why I was even here in the first place. In the blink of an eye I ran downstairs, filled up a few ice packs and began placing them on the bruises that (if possible) looked even worse today.

"How are you feeling?" I asked when I was done playing nurse.

"Eh, the soreness is worse, but nothing is throbbing like it was yesterday. My arm feels better too, but I would definitely love a pain pill right about now."

I got him his pill and kissed him softly. "I need to call home and check in, I'll be back up in just a minute."

He smiled and closed his eyes, waiting for the medication to bring him drowsiness and relief. I grabbed my cell and headed out to the backyard, dialing as I went. My father answered the home phone after one ring.

"Hey Dad. Just calling to check in."

"How is Owen doing today?" he asked politely.

"He's really sore, but okay. Not any worse at least." I was dying to ask about Jake, but I knew what my father would think if I did. I was determined to make him see that I wasn't jealous. Before I could think of a way to broach the topic, my father spoke.

"Alice called earlier," he said casually. "Do you have anything you'd like to tell me?"

Oh hell. This could be any number of things...I had a feeling that if she had told him about last night he'd be here wringing Owens neck, not sitting calmly on the other end of the line. She should have seen his decision to become a vampire already, but why hadn't she called me first?

"Uh..." was all I could manage to get out.

"Well, _you_ can't change him, so you'll have to let us in on this idea eventually."

Okay, at least I knew what he was talking about now. This was definitely a safer topic that what had gone on last night. "What do you think, Dad, will Grandpa Carlisle do it?"

I heard my father sigh into the phone. "I don't know, baby. The circumstances surrounding this are much different than anything we've previously encountered."

"But he was going to change Mom for you! Even if she hadn't almost died!"

"Yes, but Bella made an informed choice. And my family knew that I could not live without her, we very nearly died for one another on more than one occasion. The same can't be said for you and Owen, thank goodness, but still... you're both so young, who knows what you'll want down the road?"

"DOWN THE ROAD WILL BE TOO LATE!" I shouted. "You're only saying all of this because you want me with _Jake_. You're so willing to sacrifice what I want, what Owen wants, on the off chance that I'll eventually want to be with him!" The rational part of my brain told me that I was freaking out for nothing. Not even 5 minutes ago I'd thought of all the time we had before turning Owen became necessary, 3 or 4 years at least. I just hated that my father seemed to be putting Jake's feelings in front of his own daughter's.

"You really need to think this through, Renesmee. Forever is not just some arbitrary term for us. Are you prepared to be with Owen for eternity?"

"Yes," I said confidently. I was ready, I could picture myself still with him in 1,000 years. I got all tingly just thinking about it.

"There are a few other things to discuss, but now isn't really the time. Perhaps once Owen is feeling better we can all sit down and talk."

That sounded reasonable, so I let the conversation drop for then. With that out of the way, it seemed safe to ask about Jake. "Did Jacob make it home last night?" I tried to keep the intense interest out of my voice.

I could practically hear my father smirk on the other end of the line. "Yeah, he was home by midnight."

He was going to make me ask wasn't he? "_And?_" I added with obvious irritation.

"And...I think he had a good time."

"DAD! Are you going to make me come out and say it? You know what I want to know."

I was starting to fume as he laughed. "Okay, okay. I don't really know what's going on, because I don't think Jake knows exactly what's happening either. He likes her, but he's still in love with you...the two emotions just don't seem compatible. But last night he tried to take things further with Rory and it went well."

"_How_ well?" I asked.

"Well enough. He told her that he's in love with you, but that he doesn't think it will go anywhere soon, and he wants more than anything to move on. He was surprisingly honest without giving too much away. He must really like her, he even went to school without us today just to see her. She likes him too, from what I could tell in his thoughts."

He sounded way too satisfied about this, and what was with all the details? He never told me this much about someone else's thoughts. "Dad...why are you telling me so much? Normally it would be like pulling teeth to get that kind of info. There isn't any particular reason you want me to know, is there?"

"No, I just think you should know that Jake isn't going to wait around forever. He won't come right out and say it, but it's there. He'll fight the imprint if he has to."

Good. Jake could at least try to be happy without me. The voice in my head screaming '_NO!_' wasn't as loud as I'd anticipated it to be, so I supposed that was good news. Even though it was happening before my eyes, however slowly, I still couldn't picture Jake ever actually leaving. I pushed all the thoughts of it out of my head, I would face it when the time came. If it ever did.

"Ness? Are you still there?" I could hear my father saying through the thick swirl of contradictions in my mind.

"Oh, yeah...I'm here. That's good news, isn't it? Jake can at least try to be happy with someone else."

"Yes, very good news. Do you need to get back to Owen now? You sound distracted."

I could tell what he was trying to do by the tone in his voice, and it wasn't going to work. I would not feel upset, guilty, or any of the other emotions he expected me to feel. "Yes, I do. I'll call you tomorrow. Try and warm the family up to the Owen situation, will you? Thanks." I hung up the phone and dashed back up the stairs.

I had hoped Owen would be awake to keep me distracted, but I had no such luck. He was snoring softly as I settled down next to him and flipped on the TV, but unfortunately there was nothing captivating enough on in the middle of the day to keep my mind away from where it wanted to go.

I tried to imagine my life in 100 years. I could see Owen there, strong, young and beautiful by my side. But where was Jake? As far as we knew, an imprint had never been broken...was it even possible? The subject of an imprint had never refused, so maybe once I definitively gave up on Jake and was truly ready to let him go, he could go easily and happily. I wasn't ready yet though. I still wanted my best friend.

**NOTE:** Hey guys! I know that wasn't a very long chapter, but I wanted to get something up before the weekend. I'm going to be pretty busy this coming week, so it might be a little longer than normal before my next update. Be patient and I will make it extra long and juicy!! Much love to all the wonderful people who comment and review, you make me excited to get up and check my email in the morning!


	25. Chapter 25

The rest of the weekend passed slowly. I spent most of my time in Owen's room, cuddled up next to him in bed, watching TV or talking. I also hung out downstairs, watching old musicals with Karen while Owen slept during the day. By Sunday afternoon he was able to get out of bed on his own, though not without pain. He was planning on going to school Monday, even though I didn't feel like he was really up to it yet. It was only a two day week, Thanksgiving break started Wednesday...we wouldn't miss much by skipping.

While trying to talk him into staying home the next day, I heard a car pull into the driveway. Luke and Rory's car. I panicked for a half second at the idea of seeing Rory, but then realized how silly I was being. She was my friend, and as far I knew, she had no idea that I knew a thing about she and Jake. It might only be Luke coming to visit Owen, no need to freak out. When the car parked, I heard four pairs of feet trudging up the walkway. Luke, Rory, Wren and Allen. Allen only lived across the street, it was surprising he hadn't been over yet. He must have been hanging out with the others today.

I heard Karen answer the door downstairs. "What a nice surprise! Owen and Nessie will be so glad to see you all. They've been shut up in the house for days! Ness is so bored she's started hanging out with me!"

I heard them all laugh uncomfortably, waiting to be sent upstairs to see the injured patient.

"Owen, you have some visitors...are you up for it?" Karen called.

"Send them up, Mom!" He yelled back, a wide grin spreading over his face. He reached for his blankets and began covering himself up, even though he had just complained about being too warm.

"What are you doing? I thought you were hot...or were you just trying to get me to move to the other side of the bed?" I asked with a wry smile.

He rolled his eyes and pulled me to him, brushing his lips along my ear. "You can handle all of my disgusting bruises, but I don't see any reason why they need to be on display for all our friends. Besides, Luke would never let me live down taking such a beating from Jake."

I sighed and shuttered at the tickling sensation. "You've already been laid up in bed for 3 days, he'll give you crap about it anyway."

"Not when he walks in and sees us like this...he'll think I'm the luckiest SOB that ever lived. He'd beat _himself_ up to have a nurse like you taking care of him."

I heard the group walking up the stairs and pausing outside the door. Someone knocked timidly and then cracked the door. It was Wren peaking inside. How unlike her, she was never timid, I would have expected her to burst right in.

"Come in, guys!" I said from my position on Owen's bed, taking in their surprised expressions when they walking in the door.

Allen let a low whistle fly out of his mouth, "No wonder we haven't heard from you two...Owen is probably just pretending to be hurt at this point."

Luke was just staring with his mouth hanging open. It was making me self conscious, so I flung a blanket over myself as well. Owen just laughed and hugged me tighter, his exposed arm catching Wren's attention.

"Holy Hell, Owen! That looks awful."

"And that's his _good_ arm," I snorted.

Luke finally came to his senses and got all excited, "Come on man, show us the worst of it! We heard you broke some ribs, I bet that looks bad. Lemme see!"

I giggled a bit at his enthusiasm, and rolled away from Owen so he should off his battle scars. He looked like he didn't want to, but I knew that deep down he did. Guys love this kind of crap. They all gasped loudly in unison when he pulled the blanket out of the way, exposing his bare chest.

"Wow. So are you and Jake ever going to be able to be in the same room together again?" Allen asked.

I watched Rory carefully out of the corner of my eye, trying to gauge her reaction now that we were speaking about Jacob. She betrayed nothing in her face. I continued to watch as Owen talked about how he thought that he and Jake would be fine...a bit strained perhaps, but mature enough to be civil to one another. I could tell that they were all dying to ask a flood of questions about the whole situation.

They stayed for a little over an hour, waiting until Owen had fallen asleep to tip toe out of the room. Rory hung back behind everyone, looking at me with her eyes squinted, not in anger, but concern. "Are _you_ okay, Nessie?"

"Uh...er...yeah, Rory. I'm fine. Why? Owen is the one who's hurt."

"I've been worried. I talked to Jake after it happened, and he was really beating himself up over this whole mess. He was concerned about you."

"I'm fine," I told her again. She didn't move toward the door, but kept looking at me with an expression that I couldn't determine.

"I'd like to talk to you, about Jake, if you don't mind," she finally blurted out after a minute or two. Oh great....this was not a conversation I wanted to have. I had no idea what she knew and didn't know. I'd definitely have to watch my words carefully. I nodded for her to continue.

"I'm just not sure where things stand with you two. He told me, but you never know... and I don't want to step on anyone's toes. I like him, but you're my friend. I don't really know what I should be doing."

The flash of fury that broke through my consciousness was quickly expelled. It was impossible to doubt the perfect sincerity of her words, she was putting our friendship first and asking my permission to pursue what I did not want. Looking at a peaceful, sleeping Owen helped me keep a handle on the small part of my mind that wanted to attack her. "Rory, I'm so glad Jake has you. Really. He needs a calming influence in his life. I've been mucking things up for him long enough."

She came and sat down on the bed beside me. "He seems so torn about something...like there are all these things he wants to tell me but can't....or won't. And he's in love with you, did you know that?"

"I do know that."

"Then why aren't you together? He's your best friend...it seems like it would be a perfect match."

I laughed without humor. "I thought _you _liked him. Why are you trying to talk me into dating him?"

She bit her lip and shook her head, looking confused. "I'm just trying to figure this all out. I don't want to...I mean, I've never...and if you changed your mind...he'd drop me in a second, I just know it. I don't want to feel like a place holder."

I didn't know how to respond, because I wasn't sure if she could be anything more than that to him. Something to occupy his time while he waited for me to come around. She deserved better than that, but at the same time, Jake deserved a little happiness. And like I'd thought a few days ago- maybe the imprint _could_ break, if only we tried hard enough.

"Don't feel like that," I told her. "Jake is wonderful, and I think he'd be lucky to have you...and vice versa. Don't let me stand in your way at all. Jake's.... _infatuation_, with me will pass. You know how teenage boys are." I could feel my cheeks turning red under the glare of my blatant lie.

"Thanks, Nessie. I'm glad I talked to you. I think I'll give it a shot." Rory gave me a quick hug and then walked out of the room.

The night flew by quickly, probably because I was dreading school tomorrow...for more than one reason. Not only would I have to see my father for the first time since well...the _almost_ incident, but I would also have to see Rory and Jake together, and I wasn't sure how hard that would hit me.

Karen was taking us to school since Owen was hardly in any condition to drive, or walk for that matter. How he was going to make it around to his classes today was beyond me. We'd talked extensively this morning about different ways to attempt to block my father from hearing about Thursday night...and various other minor incidents since. I was going to adopt one of Aunt Alice's tried and true strategies, translating various bodies of literature into every language I knew. Owen was going to try think about every ski run he'd ever made in Colorado, and since he'd lived there for 10 years, there were quite a few.

Karen let us out in the parking lot and we made our way to the back, toward my family's cars so that I could drop my overnight bag. My mother bounded out of the Volvo and rushed to embrace me.

"Renesmee! Baby, I missed you so much! Did you know that's the longest we've ever been away from each other? I didn't like it at all! I ran halfway to Owen's at least 20 times just to hear you sleeping or talking." My eyes grew huge with horror, but she just kept up her uncharacteristic babbling, "of course I turned around. You're responsible enough to be away from home for a few days...but don't do it again any time soon. I missed you too much."

The moment she said 'ran halfway to Owens', my mind slipped for a half second. But that's all it took. A low growling was growing louder by the second from inside the Volvo. Owen, who was leaning against a beat up old Mustang for support a few feet away, looked at me with sheer terror. I waved my arms wildly behind my mothers back, motioning for him to not think of what had surely crossed his mind, just like it had mine. It was too late. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view), the bell was only a minute away from ringing, so the parking lot was nearly cleared of all other students.

No one heard when my father nearly snapped the door off its hinges and stalked toward us, growling all the while. I went to stand in front of Owen, surely my father wouldn't attack with me in the way.

Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper jumped out of the Land Rover, and Jake moved slowly out of the Rabbit...looking warily between Owen and I. I suppose he wondered if we'd be angry with him still, I gave him a tense smile to try and put his mind at ease. Might as well let him know I wasn't angry anymore...this might be his last memory of me.

I don't know that I'd ever seen my father beyond words, but that's where he was now. Uncle Jasper was sending out wave after wave of calm tranquility, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

"They almost...he almost...._SEX!" _My father roared at my mother. She must have let her shield down and asked him. He turned to Aunt Alice with a deadly look in his eyes. "You knew. You knew and you didn't tell me. How _could_ you? Do you not care for her at all?"

"Dad," I said calmly. "Alice called me and put a stop to it. Don't be angry at her. Don't be angry at all...nothing even happened."

He snarled in our general direction, presumably more at Owen than me. Everyone wore a mask of shock on their faces, at least the faces I could bear to look at. I couldn't look at Jacob.

My mothers soft voice was in direct contrast to the anger that was bubbling over from my father. "Nessie, this is not the kind of behavior you were brought up to exhibit, but I do understand. I was a teenager not so long ago. I don't remember it _well_, but I do remember. You have all of eternity ahead of you for such serious things, please don't rush into adulthood so quickly."

Wow. I hadn't expected such calm rationale from her. She was typically more level headed than Dad, but I wasn't counting on that in this situation. She turned quietly to face Jake, who I still hadn't looked at. "Jake, just go. Go to class or go home, but leave here before you do something you'll regret."

I heard him grumble and march off toward the building, muttering curse words under his breath as he went.

"Get in the car," my father said through his teeth.

"I'm not leaving Owen here! He can hardly walk."

"Owen is coming with us. Both of you get in the car. _Now_." Without taking his eyes off of us he spoke, "Alice, Jasper...Bella and I, and the children are going home. Stay here and keep an eye on things, please. Make sure no one has taken notice of this."

With that, he stalked back to the Volvo and got in, revving the engine impatiently as I helped Owen hobble toward it. No one spoke the whole way home, but I could tell my father was deep in thought. His expressions kept changing and I grew increasingly uncomfortable. In 5 minutes, we were there.

"To the dining room please," My father said icily. Then he smiled wryly and spoke to Owen without looking at him. "It's where we have serious discussions, not where we eat. Don't hyperventilate."

I could see how Owen had jumped to the wrong conclusion, Dad did look very much like a vampire right now. Anger brought it out. I watched as my parents went into the house ahead of us, waiting until they were out of sight before I dared to speak, even though I knew they could still hear me. "I'm so sorry, Owen. You shouldn't be here, this was all my fault."

He leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "It's okay. You weren't the only one there that night. We're in this together now."

I took comfort in that as we walked through the house to the formal room that held the huge oval table. My father sat at the head, my mother and Grandpa Carlisle on either side of him. I'd heard part of the explanation he'd given to my grandparents before we'd gotten to the room. Grandma Esme looked shocked beyond words and sitting still as stone next to Mom. I didn't want this to feel like an 'us against them' ordeal, so instead of sitting at the other end of the table, several feet down, I sat next to Grandpa, with Owen on my other side.

I braced myself for a tirade of fury from my father, but instead I heard a sigh, and watched him pinch the bridge of his nose, something he did when stressed. His sudden calm was making me more nervous. Was he about to snap? And why did I have to have this already sure to be uncomfortable sex talk with my _grandparents_ present.

"Renesmee, I'm not about to snap, and we aren't going to have a sex talk...right now anyway."

"Okay," I said, drawing the word out slowly. "Then why are we here?"

He turned to Owen. "So, I hear you'd like to join the family."

I heard him gasp at the same time I did. Where was _this _coming from? I looked at my father suspiciously, willing him to explain himself.

"I see now how serious you both are. Though I did catch some..._unpleasant_, thoughts in the parking lot, I also caught several about this topic. Owen does want to be turned, more than you know Nessie. And I know from experience that trying to delay and avoid it only leads to trouble, so I won't do that again...though I'd like to. I can see that you both want the same things."

This must be a trick. There had to be a catch...something like the ultimatum he'd given Mom. What would it be? No sex? We'd have to be married before anyone could change Owen? Finish school?

Dad laughed at my thoughts, "I wouldn't mind the first one, but no, there are no conditions really. Just that he know what he's getting into. Carlisle and I are both hoping that with enough preparation he'll be able to skip the worst of the newborn phase like Bella did."

My mind was drawing a complete blank. This couldn't be real. My father must be plotting something, there's no way he'd agree to this so easily. I looked at Owen and to my utter and complete surprise he was grinning from ear to ear.

The rest of the morning was spent sitting around the table with my family, going over every conceivable complication and outcome with Owen. I hardly heard a word of it, I was still in shock. Owen took it all in stride, only being caught off guard once or twice. He seemed to be quite at ease.

When Esme took him to the kitchen around lunch time to find something to eat, I finally had the chance to ask my parents a few things I'd been mulling over.

"Dad, what is this really about? I know you aren't going to let this be so easy. What's the real reason?"

He looked at me seriously for a moment and then started to explain. "I suppose my reasoning is a bit like the marriage condition. Before things get any further with the two of you, I think a commitment of some kind needs to be made. He's serious in his desire to become one of us, and that's good enough for me, though I'd prefer to wait until you finished high school at least. But I know as well as anyone that age isn't really a determining factor in love, when you find it, you find it." He looked lovingly at my mom and then went back to pinching the bridge of his nose. "Bad things happened when your mother and I tried to force different outcomes, and I would never want you to be hurt the way she was. You are mature enough to make your own choices, and I won't try and force you in a different direction again. You chose Owen, so I'll back down."

I felt tears start to pool in my eyes, and saw that Mom would be tearing up as well, if she were able. She reached across the table and held my hands in hers.

"This is all much, much too soon, but if it's what makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Mom," I whispered, my voice caught in my in throat. I turned to look at Grandpa Carlisle. "When?" I asked him.

"Whenever he feels ready, and we get the arrangements made. He'll need to decide how to best leave his family...that could get complicated. There really is no rush though, he can take his time. He's only a year away from 18, so it might be easier to wait until then."

"I don't want to wait that long," Owen said from the doorway, holding a poptart in his hand and leaning on Grandma Esme for support.

"We never said you had to," my father told him. "Just know that you don't have to be in a hurry."

"I'm not in a _hurry_ really. I'm just ready, I can't explain it...it just feels _right_. Like this is home."

My mother smiled radiantly at him, "I know exactly what you mean."

**NOTE:** Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews for the last chapter! I haven't been answering them like I normally do because I figured that yall would rather have a new chapter instead! But I do read them all and I appreciate it so so much!


	26. Chapter 26

What a strange dream...was it Jacob? No, I knew Jake's howl. This was Seth. How odd, I don't recall having ever dreamed about Seth before- in human or in wolf form. There it was again, getting louder, a warning. I could now see points of light breaking through the black of my dream. I gasped in sudden awareness. I wasn't dreaming. It took me half a second to remember that I was in my old room, in the tiny cottage hidden away in the woods surrounding Forks. I shot out of bed and ran into the living room.

"Mom! Something has happened. Didn't you hear Seth? What's going on?" I let my questions trail off as I saw my mother sitting quietly on the sofa, a tattered old book spread open on her lap. She didn't look concerned in the least. In fact, she looked suspiciously happy...the cat who ate the canary. She knew something I didn't.

"Seth is fine. You know how he is, always quick to raise an alarm without thinking. Your father ran out to make sure it all got smoothed over before the pack surrounded our guests."

Guests? Who would be coming to visit us in Forks for Thanksgiving break?

"Tanya!" I shrieked. Before my mother could answer me, I was out the door, following my fathers scent into the woods. I didn't even bother to change out of my pajamas. It had been forever since we'd had a visit from the Denali clan, eighteen months at least. It seemed like a long time to me, only being 8 years old...time meant more. To them it probably felt like a week. Regardless, I'd missed my extended family.

I hurdled to a stop in a small clearing, watching the group approach through the trees. Garrett had his arm slung around Seth, in human form, while Kate, Tanya, and my dad followed behind. Only Seth would be so comfortable walking through the forest arm in arm with a vampire.

"Ah, no harm no foul friend!" I heard Garrett tell him. "You were only doing your job."

Dad smiled at the friendliness between them and apologized for not informing the wolves of the visitors. "I wasn't expecting any of you to be out running patrols," he said.

"I wasn't. I was just running," Seth replied. "No one else is phased right now, it's nice to run with only your own thoughts sometimes. You of all people should understand _that_!"

My dad laughed. "As true as that is, you better phase back now and explain...I'm sure they heard you. The whole pack will here in a few minutes, thinking you're in some kind of trouble."

Seth nodded, taking off into the woods as I darted across the small space that separated me from my friends. "Tell everyone I'll be by later today!" I shouted after him.

"You're that eager to get away from us already?" Kate laughed.

I flung my arms around her, pushing my hand into her face so she could see just how happy I was that she was here.

"I missed you too, Nessie, darling."

"No hogging her, Kate!" Garrett exclaimed, grabbing me up into a hug. I giggled and touched his face as well.

"Where are Carmen and Eleazar? And why did no one tell me that we were having guests!" I asked my father.

"They're in Spain for a few weeks, and we wanted to surprise you. Obviously we did," he said, eying the tiny pink shorts and skimpy black tank top with distaste.

Tanya laughed and shook her head. "You are such a daddy, Edward! Who would have ever thought!"

"Yes well, even though she's grown she still needs someone to tell her to _get dressed_ in the mornings. Why don't we all go back to the main house, Nessie go put something decent on and tell your mother where we are." He rumpled my hair and grinned before I turned to run back to the cottage, so I knew he wasn't too put out by my appearance. I giggled as I sprinted back home.

_______________________________

Jacob spent the previous night at Billy's, but I found him waiting in living room at the main house when Mom and I ran in. He was deep in discussion with Garrett about some aspect of wolfdom that must have fascinated the one time nomad/adventurer. I went and sat down next to them, not really listening to the conversation, just enjoying Jake's warmth. He was only slightly warmer than me, but it was enough that I could notice the difference. Enough that it felt nice on this cool morning. He smiled at my arrival and put his arm around my shoulders.

I didn't mind. I might as well enjoy the last bits of affection he had for me. I hadn't told him about Owens decision yet, and I was positive that the affection, if not the love, would surely disappear. I felt my eyes tear at the thought. Hopefully Owen could wait until next summer, then I'd have a little time left before Jake had to go (he wouldn't stick around to watch me with someone else, would he?). And I'd have time to make sure he was happy with Rory. I was going to try my hardest to help that relationship along, even as the voice in my head screaming at me to stop it got louder and louder.

I sat there thinking and half listening to the conversations around me for awhile. Long enough to hear that Tanya, Kate and Garrett were coming back to stay at our new place for a week or two. I was glad, having them around was a fun distraction. Garrett especially. His stories were fabulous, and Owen would definitely get a kick out of him.

"I need to head back to the rez," Jacob said, snapping me out of my daze. "You coming down?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I'll come this afternoon. I'm going to hangout here for awhile and then go see Grandpa Charlie. Come pick me up later?"

"Sure, just call."

I watched him run across the backyard, leaping over the river and into the woods, oblivious to the watching eyes of those around me.

"What's going on with them?" Tanya asked my dad under her breath.

I could see him looking at me warily, unsure of what he should tell her...With me sitting here listening at least. I saved him the trouble and rested my hand against her cheek, showing her the past several months in quick flashes. She gasped at all the appropriate moments and shook her head in disbelief when I was through.

"Only Edwards child..."

"Would fall in love with a human," I finished for her, rolling my eyes. I'd heard that before.

"In love with a human?" Kate and Garrett said at the same time. I rolled my eyes again and showed them the same thing I'd shown Tanya. They both sat stunned when I was finished.

"What is the big deal!?" I exclaimed. "I _am_ half human!"

Kate cleared her throat. "It's not the human part that has me surprised really. It's...well...we all expected Jacob..."

"You and everyone else," my mother interjected.

"And this Owen, he wants to be changed?" Tanya asked, even thought she's seen his decision in my memories. Her question wasn't directed at me, however. She wanted all the dirt from my father, to know his feelings on the matter.

"He does. We've discussed it with him, now we're just waiting for he and Nessie to decide when."

"And you're _okay_ with this?"

I started growling internally. It was driving me insane, listening to them talk about me as if I wasn't even here.

"I don't really have any other option," Dad started. "She chose him. I'm not going to drive her away by trying to take that choice from her. And how can I deny them what they want, when I've been in such a similar situation? I'm trying very hard not to be hypocritical. It _is_ difficult, I'll admit," he said when Tanya and Kate raised their eyebrows in unison. "But they do love each other, you saw that in her thoughts. I can't dictate the direction her life goes."

Tanya snorted, "You've mellowed considerably."

"After you nearly lose everything, you learn not to sweat the small stuff. As long as my family is happy and safe, I'm content." He smiled warmly at my mother and I, making it hard to be irritated with him.

"We're due over at Charlie's soon. We better get going," my mother said to my father before turning to Tanya. "The rest of the family stayed behind. You can head that direction if you'd like, we'll be home tomorrow." They nodded and headed out the back door, going the way my father pointed out on a map. After they were out of sight we made our way to the Volvo.

"What time is dinner tomorrow?" I asked as we drove. "Don't forget that I have to be at Owen's by 6."

"For the hundredth time, Renesmee, we know. We'll have you on his doorstep by 6p.m." My mother sighed.

We were having Thanksgiving dinner at Grandpa Charlie's house with the Sue, Billy and the pack. My mother, father and I would be the only Cullens in attendance...there was still too much tension with some of the wolves for it to be a very comfortable, homey gathering if we were all crammed into such a small space for several hours. Owen had invited me to his house to meet his extended family, so I'd be speeding from one dinner to the other. I hoped we were eating early at Grandpa Charlie's, I didn't want to have to cut my time with my friends here short.

Grandpa was ecstatic to see us, as always. He had Sue make piles of hard boiled eggs because he knew they were my favorite. I sat and munched on them while I listened to the stories about my mother as a child for the umpteenth time. After a few hours of chit chat and exploring Mom's old room like I always did, I called Jake to come pick me up.

I fell into the comfortable pattern of my old life here, and the afternoon in La Push passed quickly. Walks on First Beach, motorcycle rides with Jake, sitting out in the shed talking with he, Seth, Embry and Quil. I missed it more than I had known.

I slept long and hard that night, a totally dreamless sleep. It was the most restful night I'd had in a long time. I woke up excited for the coming day. A note was stuck on the mirror of my nightstand when I got up. _**Your outfits for today are in a garment bag in your closet. The more casual is for this afternoon, the other is for tonight. I'll know if you don't wear them, so just humor me. - Aunt Alice**_. I laughed as I unzipped the bag and found new pair of brown trousers with a cream shirt, obviously my 'daytime' ensemble. The chocolate colored suede skirt and cream sweater meant for evening was nearly identical, only slightly more dressy. Did she run all the way here just to put those in my closet? That is definitely something she'd do. It had probably taken her less than an hour to get here and back anyway.

I rushed to get ready, eager to get to the party that was probably already underway. Less than 20 minutes later we were on our way. It was about eleven in the morning and the smell of Thanksgiving hung in the air. My sensitive sense of smell could pick up turkey cooking in nearly every house we passed. It didn't appeal to me at all. Sue knew that I didn't really enjoy human food, but I'd eat a few bites to be polite regardless.

The party was already in full swing when we pulled up to Grandpa Charlie's, members of both packs overflowing from the small house into the front yard and driveway. Emily, Claire, Rachel, and Kim rushed from inside to greet me. Liz, the newest imprintee hung back by the door. I still made her uncomfortable.

"Hey vampire girl," Emily said to my mother after she'd looked me over like a protective aunt. Mom laughed and gave the beautiful, scarred woman a hug.

"It's _so_ not fair that you grow fast, Nessie," Claire whined. "I'm over 3 years older than you and look at us!"

Quil walked up behind her and playfully grabbed her ponytail. "Don't be in such a rush to grow up, silly girl. I like the rate you're going."

We all laughed as she playfully stuck her tongue out at him. I felt so at home here, surrounded by my old friends. I felt a sudden stab of fear as I wondered if I would still see them again, after they all knew everything. Right now, they were only privy to the information that Jake had...which was far from the whole story. They must know about Rory, though. That made me a little uncomfortable.

"Come on in kids! Food will be ready soon!" Sue called from inside the house.

I laughed out loud when I walked through the door. There were several round card tables set up throughout the living room and kitchen, food covered nearly every inch of counter space...even the mantle over the fireplace had overflowing platters set on top of it. There was enough food to feed 100, and it probably still wouldn't be enough to feed the pack.

Mom, Dad, Jake and I sat at a table with Billy, Grandpa Charlie, and Sue. We were squeezed shoulder to shoulder, but it was perfect, happiness and family filled every inch of the space. Billy even kept Grandpa distracted so my parents could slip bits of food into their napkins. I braved a few bites of turkey, but mostly stuck to deviled eggs. I needed to save room for all the unpleasant things I was sure to have to eat tonight.

"So," Grandpa Charlie started. "How is school going, Nessie?"

"Fine," I replied. "It's pretty boring most of the time, but I don't mind."

"Why, you got a boyfriend?" he teased.

I held my breath as the whole house fell silent, waiting to hear what I would say. Grandpa looked bewildered at the sudden tension in the air, he had no idea about the awkward situation we were in. Half the eyes in the room were trained on me, the other half on Jake. I could hear low shallow breathing coming from those sitting at tables in the other room...waiting.

"Um...yes, actually. I'll bring him to meet you sometime."

I heard a low growl coming from the kitchen. Leah, of course.

_'Daddy, help me out here!'_ I thought.

He cleared his throat loudly. "Er..so, Charlie. Any luck out on the rivers lately? Catching much?"

Grandpa immediately began regaling us with tales of his latest fishing exploits, but no one was really listening. Though Mom and Dad were nodding and smiling, they were really watching me. Watching me watch Jake. His hands were clinched into tight fists, and his eyes never looked up from his lap. I could feel the eyes of the pack boring into the back of my head. I'd never felt so exposed.

I could hear Seth in the other room, always the peacemaker, trying to calm Leah and keep her from making a scene.

"But she would bring _him_ here?!" she hissed quietly. "And just parade him around in front of all of Jakes family? Doesn't she realize she's killing him?"

Tears welled in my eyes, and I got up from the table without excusing myself. I couldn't have spoken without the tenuous hold on my composure slipping. I walked quietly up to my mothers old room and curled up on the bed, praying that no one would follow me. I should have know that was too much to hope for.

"What's wrong? Did I say something?" I heard Grandpa Charlie ask.

"Don't worry about it Charlie," my father told him.

"Someone should check on her, I'll go apologize for whatever upset her." His chair started to scrape against the floor.

"I think she'd rather be alone right now."

_'Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy.'_

"I'm going up," I heard my mother say.

UGH. I closed my eyes and turned my back to the door. She ghosted in and sat on the bed next to me.

"Are you alright, sweetie?"

"What do you think?" I whispered. "I'm _killing _him. I know Leah didn't mean it literally, but still. She hears his thoughts, she knows how he really feels. Will this torture me forever?"

"It might," she answered honestly. "But that's just something you'll have to live with if you really think Owen is the one for you."

"He's willing to change for me. How can I doubt that kind of commitment?"

"Jake would do it for you too, if he could."

"I know he would." I sighed. "I guess I know who's side you're on."

"I'm on your side, no matter who you choose. You know that. Of course I'd love for you to be with Jake. It's taken me nearly this long to get used to the idea, only to have it pulled right out from under me, but if Owen is who you want I can't force you. I've been in a position not far from yours, and I know how hard it is. But you need to do what's right for _you_, it's the only way to be fair to both of them."

"I don't know what's right for me."

"Well, then I think you need to have an honest talk with Owen. If you're not one hundred percent positive, changing him anytime soon would be a mistake."

She was right, of course. But I was afraid of how Owen would react to my moment of indecision, would he doubt my commitment? If he were willing to give up his entire existence for me, the least I could do is be honest with him. I wanted us both to be sure beyond all doubt that we were doing the right thing. It was the only way.

I was content with my sudden resolve to be totally honest about our delicate situation. I wiped my eyes, straightened my clothes and walked back downstairs. I didn't even acknowledge the less than pleasant looks I was getting from a few members of the pack. They didn't know the whole story, I told myself. But I did realize something because of those looks of anger and disappointment. If I were to choose Owen after all, things would never be the same here. I would no longer be a welcome member of this extended family I loved as much as my own.


	27. Chapter 27

Before I could sit down at the table, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Aunt Alice. Whatever it was, it could wait. I didn't want to hurt Grandpa Charlie and Sue by missing half the meal because I was sulking and talking on the phone. I hit the end button to disconnect the call. Less than a second later I heard my mothers phone vibrate, and then my fathers. Was something wrong at home? My father excused himself and went out into the front yard to answer. I'm not sure why he went outside, with a few exceptions, most of those gathered here could hear his side of the conversation perfectly.

"Yes, Alice?" he paused. "No, she's right here and just fine.......well, _that's_ interesting.....Mmhum, I hadn't realized....thanks for checking in."

I heard the phone flip shut, and realized that the room was totally silent again. Though I doubted any of the others could decipher a bit of meaning from the conversation, I knew exactly what was going on, and I suspected that Mom did too. Aunt Alice could no longer see my future. Something this afternoon had shaken my resolve, and the concrete future I'd had with Owen disintegrated. Jake was once again in the picture.

I looked over at him and saw that he had understood the meaning behind the vague conversation. His dark eyes were wide, and full of an intense hope that I hadn't see in their depths for a very long time. That expression made me feel worse than I had all day. How could I give him hope, and then possibly crush him again? It was beyond cruel. Just when he had started toying with the idea of moving on, here I was pulling him back in.

I just needed to get through this meal and out of this town. Maybe that was it, the reason for all my indecision...Forks. This place held nothing of my new self or my new life. My life with Owen. Everything here was ancient history. The allure of Jacob was stronger in this place. Would it fade again as we drove outside the city limits?

Dinner seemed to last forever. I was dying to be done with this and out of town, it was possibly the most awkward event I'd ever attended. When the pack had finally had their fill, I sat talking to Kim and Claire. Their sympathetic looks did nothing to make me feel better, but mercifully, neither of them asked me anything about my boyfriend back home. After a few minutes of empty chatter I felt two large, warm hands on my shoulders.

"Do you wanna go for a walk with me, Ness?" Jacob asked.

"Sure," I answered glumly. "Let me tell Mom and Dad."

I walked over to where they sat with Seth, Sue and Grandpa Charlie to tell them where I was going. "Be back by four at the latest," my mother said. "You'll be late if we don't leave by then."

"'Kay" I told her before turning to leave. My father wore an interesting smirk on his face that I couldn't quite place. Sometimes I wished I could read his mind.

The day was chilly and damp, basically an average day for Forks. Jake and I made our way into the woods across from Grandpa Charlie's house. Being in this forest was comfortable, I knew it as well as I knew the back of my own hand. We walked at a human pace in silence for a few minutes, winding deeper and deeper through the trees. We rounded a corner and Jake came to a stop, turning to look intently into my face. His sudden closeness caused me to lean back into the nearest tree.

"I'm sorry about what Leah said before, I wish she hadn't hurt you that way." He frowned.

"You're sorry that I'm hurt? When all I do is hurt you? Leah had every right to say what she did. It's true, and I deserved to hear it."

"I didn't say it wasn't true, or that you shouldn't have heard it. Just that I'm sorry it upset you."

"Thanks for the clarification," I snorted, and tried to continue walking, but he blocked my path. I guess I had expected him to deny that I was killing him. Knowing it was true was like being stabbed.

"I heard what Edward was saying to Alice on the phone. You're changing your mind, aren't you?"

"Jake..." I started to say, but he interrupted me.

"I know, I know, 'Don't get my hopes up'." He grinned. "But I already have. You're wavering. You're looking at your options and I still have a chance, how could my hopes not be up?"

He took a step closer to me, and leaned down until his face was just a few inches from mine. I had nowhere to go, my back was pressed tight against the tree behind me. But even if I could've escaped from his piercing glare, I don't know that I would have. My stomach was swimming with butterflies.

"I'm in love with you, Renesmee. I can spend the rest of existence trying to distract myself with other girls, but _you_ are the one I love. And I can love you forever. I've tried to be patient and wait for you to come around, like I know you will eventually, but I don't want to waste a single day that we could have together, so I'm asking you now. Choose me."

There was a second of silence, and before I could make my thoughts coherent, his face was pressed to mine. We'd kissed more times than I could count in my life...but those were kisses of a friend, a brother. This was different. He was trying to tell me what words couldn't, that I belonged with him. I didn't even try to stop him, I braced myself against the tree and pulled him closer.

It was a different feeling kissing him, not having to be careful, not worrying about hurting him with my teeth or my strength. I threw myself into the kiss with an enthusiasm that I didn't know existed. If I had always known it could be like this, would I have ever thought of choosing something different?

I couldn't see the future like Aunt Alice, but even without that talent, I could see mine changing. All the images of anyone other than Jake were slipping away, and a feeling of total contentment washed over me. I thought I'd been happy before, I thought I'd known what I wanted, but I realized now that I'd been clueless. There was nothing outside of this moment.

I let my thoughts slip away again, so that I could focus wholly on him; His lips, his skin, his touch. It was electric. When he pulled his lips away from mine after a long time, but still much too soon, victory was evident on his face. He was more beautiful than I'd ever seen him.

"Don't say I told you so!" I laughed with my face pressed into his neck.

He laughed too, and it was music to my ears. "Well, I did...but I won't say it."

"So what now?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair.

"It's happily ever after, didn't you know?"

"I realize that it is for you and I...but I still have loose ends to tie up, and I think you do too."

"Owen and Rory," he said with realization. Hearing Owens name made my stomach twist into knots. I didn't want to hurt him, but what choice did I have now? My mind was 100% made up. I was tied as tightly to Jacob as he was to me. Amazing how one kiss could change everything.

"This could get messy," I said. "Owen was ready to be changed for me...how can I tell him that I don't want him after that?"

Jake began to tremble slightly, his hands shaking at his sides. "He was going to become...a...a _vampire_ for you?! Your family was going to _allow_ that?!"

"What choice did they have, Jake? They were only doing what they thought was best for me, what they thought I wanted."

"How close was he to being turned? How close was I to losing you forever?"

"I'm not sure." I sighed. "He wanted to do it immediately, but I kept trying to get him to wait. There was no rush."

Jake calmed down and smiled at that. "You were having second thoughts before you even knew it."

Interesting, perhaps I was. "Maybe," I agreed with a smile. "Anyway, that's all behind us...now I just have to figure out a way to tell him."

"I'll come with you, if you need me to," Jake offered.

"No, I made this mess. I need to fix it."

"If that's what you want." He ran his fingers through my curls and kissed my lips lightly, I wanted more, but he held me back. "It's nearly four, we need to get to Charlie's before your parents have to come looking for us."

I sighed and pouted a bit, but let him lead the way back through the forest. I thought nervously about what my father would say when he heard the difference in my thoughts. My fears were unfounded, however. As soon as we burst through the line in the trees, I saw my mom and dad standing in the yard, and they were positively beaming.

"I knew it, Jake. I told you not to worry," my mother said.

"Alice called. Your future is totally gone, Ness!" Dad said excitedly.

I laughed out loud. He'd never liked that Aunt Alice couldn't see me...but he was sure happy about it now. I hadn't realized they'd been rooting for Jake quite so intensely.

The pack stood behind my parents, all of them staring at us and grinning from ear to ear. Even Leah. I grinned back.

"Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to come to my senses."

"Oh sweetie, it's okay!" Emily gushed. "We're just so happy for you!"

"Thanks," I told her. "Where's Grandpa Charlie?" I muttered under my breath. This little scene would surely be confusing to him.

"Helping Sue with the dishes," Dad said. "He's oblivious. Why don't you go tell him goodbye so we can get on the road?"

"Okay." I skipped into the house, light with my feeling of wholeness. I still listened to the conversation outside while I made my way through the house.

"Edward, man...what were you thinking? You were going to change that _boy_ for her?" I heard Jake ask in a slightly bitter tone.

"As long as it's what she wanted, yes, I would have. But I knew it wouldn't come to that, she was far too conflicted. I knew she'd come to the right conclusion eventually."

So my father had guessed all along. For a moment I was upset that he hadn't shared his little insights with me before I'd dragged an innocent boy into our crazy world. But then I realized that he had told me...I just wouldn't listen.

I said my goodbyes to Grandpa Charlie and Sue. Then to the rest of the visitors from La Push, nearly crying when Billy called me 'daughter'. I felt like I would explode from all the love around me. Jake promised to be home that night, though I tried to get him to stay and spend the time here that he'd intended to. He wouldn't hear of it, not wanting to be a away from me for a moment more than necessary. I was glad, I wanted him home with me badly.

The car ride away from Forks was somber, a totally different atmosphere than the party we'd just left. I didn't know how to go about breaking Owen's heart. He was sitting at home, waiting for me to come meet his grandmother...and instead he was going to get dumped. I was a horrible person.

"No you're not, Nessie," Dad said. "Just be honest. He's known for awhile that he's up against something supernatural. If he loves you, he'll let you go. It's truly what's best for you."

I smiled sadly and nodded. It really was the only way. When we pulled up into Owen's driveway my heart was pounding, and I felt like I was going to be sick. A million deep breaths would not calm me now.

"Would you like us to stay?" My mother asked.

"No, I'll call you if I need anything. And I'll probably just run home...I'll need the time to clear my head."

"Of course, baby," she said, leaning back to pat my arm.

I was only halfway out of the car before Owen bounded out the front door and down to meet me, but the look on my face pulled him up short.

"It'll be okay, just get it over with. We love you," I heard my dad murmur as I closed the door behind me. They drove away and I was alone, looking at a person I loved, but whose heart I was about to break. I took a deep breath, and I was right, it didn't help.

"Ness, is something wrong? Is everyone okay?" Concern was etched deep into his face.

"Yeah, everyone is fine. It just that, well...something's happened."

He rushed to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. "What is it? Whatever is wrong, I'm sure we can fix it."

I stood there, frozen in his arms, willing myself to continue. "Something has happened with me...and Jake." I looked at the ground, memorizing the lines in the brick underneath my feet. I wasn't brave enough to look in his eyes and see the hurt.

His arms dropped to his sides and he took a deep breath. "What?" He sounded confused. When I didn't answer after a few moments he said it again in a sharper, angry tone. _"WHAT?"_

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I wasn't expecting it to happen, but it just did. I'm in love him. I might have known it all along. It wasn't right for me to pull you into my world, expose you to danger and secrets. You're wonderful, the best first boyfriend a girl could ask for, but I was wrong to fight against something so strong."

"So that's it?! We're done...just like that? You're just going to walk away from me, after I'd planned to give up _everything_ for you? When you left 2 days ago, I was the love of your life, and you come back ready to end it? What the hell could have happened in two days?!"

The pain, confusion and anger were clear in his voice. He had every right to feel all three. "The imprint, it just...it's a strong thing, Owen. I don't know if I can explain it..."

"You've explained it all to me before," he cut in. "but you said it had no effect on you, that you had a choice."

"I did..I do...but when he kissed me..."

"HE _KISSED _YOU!" Owen roared. I'd never heard him so livid. I was almost afraid of him.

"Calm down, Owen. Please. We can't have this conversation if you keep freaking out, and we've got to have it."

"He _kissed_ you, someone elses girlfriend! You didn't belong to him, you weren't his to kiss! That's the most scumbag move I've ever heard of in my life. He _knew_, he knew _exactly_ what he was doing."

"WHOA, hold on a minute," I said, my temper flaring. "I don't belong to you, him or anyone else. I make my own decisions. And I've decided. I'm sorry it didn't turn out the way we planned, truly sorry. But what do you want me to do? Do you want to be with me, knowing that I want someone else? Would have wanted me to take your life, your humanity, only to find out down the road that I'm in love with him? Isn't it better to know _now _when you still have the chance to move on?"

"No, it isn't better. I want to be a vampire, Nessie. I _want_ it. To be immortal, strong and beautiful...I have a choice too, and I made it. He said he wouldn't give up fighting for you and I won't either...I'll find a way to change, to become perfect for you. Then the fight will be more evenly matched."

He couldn't be serious. My knees became weak just thinking about it. "Owen you can't do that. No one in my family will change you now anyway. You need to forget you ever knew me, we'll leave town if it will make it easier."

"There are others out there who will change me if I ask. You've shown me others. I'm sure I could find them." There was a fierce gleam in his eyes that I'd never seen there before.

"You are absolutely _insane _do you know that? You'll be killed! Not all those vampires I've shown you are as adverse to killing humans as we are..."

"I don't care. I'd rather die then lose you anyway. I'll go and find them, and then find you...I'll win you back. When I'm one of you, you'll want me again."

Now was the time to become harsh, because he was truly turning psychotic on me. "NO, Owen. I will not want you again. It. Is. Over. I didn't want to hurt you, but if you won't accept this I'm going to have to. I cannot love you the way I love Jake. It's just right with him, there isn't a doubt in my mind. I'm going to marry him someday. He's the one I was supposed to be with all along."

He suddenly looked like a small child, holding back tears in his furious eyes. Tears stung the back of my own, but I held them at bay for now. He didn't need to see me cry.

"You don't have to leave town." He said bitterly. "I'm leaving."

"No. We'll go, we'd have to in a few years anyway, and I don't want you out looking for things you shouldn't be."

"That really isn't any concern of yours anymore is it? Even if you leave I couldn't stay here...so I'll just go, and you can get on with your life. My parents won't mind sending me back to Europe to study."

"If that's what you think is best," I said. "But I'm serious, Owen. Don't go searching for any vampires, bad things will happen." He didn't answer me, and my tears wouldn't hold back any longer, they dropped silently down my cheeks and stained the top of my shirt.

"It is for the best." he told me. "I'll miss you, Nessie, and I really do love you enough to stay with you forever." His tears fell freely now as well, though he tried to wipe them away quickly.

"I know," I said. I took one last look at his face, and the green eyes I loved so much, before I walked smoothly into the woods.

**NOTE:** Hey guys! This is the next to last chapter...it's almost done! Thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews and comments, I read them all and appreciate them more than you know! This chapter is for my amazing friend Julia for her birthday! She's been a big Jake supporter all along =)

**NOTE 2:** WHOA guys! I just put this up a little bit ago and I'm getting tons of messages...some of them rather angry! Let me do a bit of explaining...I didn't even know until I finished the last chapter that she'd end up with Jake....but it just felt right. In my head (maybe I should have written it better...) she never really let go of Jake...she thought she did, and so did everyone else, but way deep down she was just fighting against the inevitable. I suppose it seems kind of out of the blue, but there will be an eventual sequel and perhaps that might explain better? Sorry to you team Owen people..it was hard for me to let him go...trust me!


	28. Chapter 28

I took my time running home, but still made it there in a few minutes. The closer I got, the better I felt. As long as I wasn't looking at the devastation in Owen's eyes, I would be okay. But I knew that tomorrow, when all the events of today sunk in, I would feel truly horrible.

Jake was sitting on the front steps waiting for me, he must have left Forks right after we did. A huge smile lit up his face as soon as he saw me, and I couldn't help doing the same. But feeling so happy felt _wrong_, I needed to mourn for Owen. I knew it would come, the sadness of losing him, but I just couldn't think about anything besides Jake in that moment.

He opened his arms for me and I ran into them, crashing against his solid chest. He tightened his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"How did it go?" He asked seriously.

"Not well," I sighed. "Not well at all. I just..I hope he moves on. I know he _can_, but I don't know if he _will_. He's quite strong willed, and he really wanted to become a vampire. And not just to be with me either...I think he genuinely wanted to have this life."

Jake snorted.

"As incomprehensible as it may seem to you, immortality, beauty and strength are quite appealing to a lot of humans," I told him.

"Yeah, but the _diet_? No thanks."

"That's not really the point, the point is...I'm worried he might do something drastic."

"Like what?" Jake said, his eyebrows pulling together.

"I think he might try and find someone to change him, and then come back," I whispered.

A low growl ripped from Jake's throat. "I will never let him near you."

"Don't be so dramatic, Jake. I won't let you fight him, besides, I told him the he was being crazy...and I think he'll realize that once he calms down."

I heard several footsteps from inside the house, heading towards the front door; a second later it swung open. It was my dad and Aunt Alice, both with worried looks on their faces.

"What were you just telling Jake, Nessie? About Owen still wanting to be changed?" Alice said.

I explained the conversation, and watched as her face turned to horror. "Edward, you were right, that is what he's planning on doing."

"What's going on, Dad?"

His face was more composed, but still strained. "Alice is getting flickers of things in Owens future, but it keeps changing...he can't make up his mind. One second he's in school here, the next he's back in Colorado, then in London, and then...Italy. His thoughts keep going back to Italy."

I didn't catch the significance of my fathers words at first. "He mentioned that he was going to go back to Europe because it would be too hard for...." I gasped. "Oh my God. Italy. But _why?_ Of all the people he could go to, to be changed...he chooses ITALY?!"

"I don't know why either, it doesn't seem to be the most sensible course of action. He's usually very pragmatic, this doesn't make sense. But his thoughts are still changing rapidly, so he might not follow through. Alice? Will you keep a close eye on him, please?"

"Of course," she replied, her features still not relaxed out of their mask of horror.

"Everything will be fine," Dad said. I couldn't tell if it was in response to the look on Aunt Alice's face, or my hectic, panicked thoughts. "We'll see before he does anything, we'll be able to stop him. Don't worry about it anymore, Nessie, you've had enough to deal with today."

Right...like I'd be able to block all the unpleasant things from my mind. Too bad life didn't really work that way, it would have been nice to bask in the glow of my new relationship.

Jake swept my hair back and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I bet I can make you forget all your worries." His hot breath tickled and gave me goosebumps. I blushed and my thoughts immediately went to a place I was mortified to have my father hear and see.

He cleared his throat and scowled. "Jake, I'm glad it all worked out for you, really, but don't push me." He got up and and turned to walk back into the house, and I heard him muttering to himself under his breath.

I let out a short burst of laughter, but then sighed.

"You're really worried, aren't you?" Jake asked once we were alone again.

"Of course I am. Just because I'm with you now, doesn't mean I all of the sudden stopped caring for Owen. I feel awful for hurting him...you should have seen his face. It was horrible."

"I can imagine," he said bitterly. "I've been in his place, you know. More than once. I understand that you have to be sad for him, but don't be angry if I'm more upbeat than usual. This is my perfect ending..._finally_."

I smiled at him. "I know, and I _am_ happy. I just need to know that Owen isn't going to do anything stupid before I can totally relax."

He didn't say anything, he just pulled me closer to him and rested his cheek on my head. We sat like that for a while, looking out into the dark gardens. A momentary break in the clouds even made it possible to see the stars, a welcome and rare sight in this cloudy place.

As we watched the glittery sky, I thought about the saying 'it was written in the stars'. I was never one for superstitions, and had always dismissed the whole 'it was meant to be' thing. I had always believed in choosing my own destiny, my own future. But for the first time I felt that it might all be true. Some things _are_ just meant to be, no one knows why.

Over the last several years I had spent much effort proving to those around me that I was capable of making my own choices. I'm stubborn, just like my parents, and I wanted them all to know that my life would not be dictated by others. Though I'd come full circle, I still felt that I'd accomplished that goal. I _chose_ Jake. I had other options, good ones, but in the end he was what I wanted. The imprint was just one faucet in our relationship, and if it were to break tomorrow, I would still want him.

The clouds closed ranks again, obscuring the tiny dots of light and bringing me back to the present.

"We should go inside," I said. "I've hardly seen Garrett, Kate and Tanya at all, and I'm sure the rest of the family has quite a few opinions about todays events."

Jake just laughed and pulled me to my feet. We held hands as we walked through the house to the living room, where everyone was gathered. I could tell by the looks on their faces how they felt about my new status with Jake. They were happy. Even Aunt Rose looked happy...well, not _happy_...but not scowling either. That was as good as her being happy if it was something Jake was involved in.

They had liked Owen, but they loved Jake. He had been a part of this family since the day I was born, I'm sure seeing him so miserable hadn't been easy.

Grandma Esme rushed up to me then, taking my head in her hands and looking in my eyes. "Oh, Renesmee, we are so glad for you and Jacob. We all love you both so much." She kissed my forehead and beamed at Jake, who beamed right back.

"So much has changed since we spoke yesterday!" Tanya exclaimed. "What on earth happened, I'm dying to know!"

"_I_ don't even really know what happened." I told her. "Jake kissed me and that was just kind of it. I found out what I've been missing." I shrugged, not really wanting to share any details with the entire family. It was bad enough that my father already knew absolutely everything. I wished that Jake and I could have some moments that were just _ours_, but I knew that would never happen. Dad looked at me sympathetically.

Uncle Emmett spoke up then, always one to say what no one else would, his words made me tense up. "So, not to upset you or anything, Ness, but what are we going to do about this whole Owen situation?"

"Is this really the time for that Emmett?" Grandma Esme said to him.

"No, it's okay," I told her. "It's a valid concern, and it affects us all. I'm sure you heard he was thinking of going to Italy, and honestly I have no idea what to do. I'm hoping that you all do."

"I told you already, don't worry," my father said gently. "Alice will see his plans, and we'll stop him before he makes it out his front door. None of us have anything to worry about." He directed his last comment pointedly toward Uncle Emmett.

"Whatever you say, bro," he replied.

They could all tell that the subject was closed, and moved on to other topics. They reminisced about old times, times that happened decades before I, and even my mother, had been born. Then Tanya and my mother started talking about their first meeting, at my parents wedding, and how intimidated my mother was of her then. It was impossible for me to imagine my mother being intimidated by anyone. She had always seemed invincible to me.

"Were you at my parents wedding, Jake?" I said through a yawn. I'd never thought to ask before, having always just assumed that he was, though he wasn't in any pictures.

"Er...no. I wasn't there."

My parents and Jake all grimaced slightly. Interesting. I stored the intrigue away for future questioning, not pressing the subject tonight. I had eternity to get every secret imaginable out of Jake.

That idea made me smile, but then I felt a slight burn in my throat and groaned. Everyone looked at me, alarmed. "I went hunting a few days ago, but only found one tiny deer. It was so cold that nothing else was out. I think I'm going to need to go before bed or its going to drive me crazy," I explained.

"Would you like us to go with you?" My mother asked.

"No, that's alright, Jake will go."

"Sure!" He said enthusiastically, obviously as eager to be alone with me as I was with him. I really was thirsty, but it was also a very convenient excuse to get out of the house for awhile.

"Be good," my father said under his breath as we headed toward the back door. I blushed and Uncle Emmett laughed boisterously, making me blush even more.

Jake ran across the lawn and into the forest ahead of me, phasing just inside the cover of the trees. I caught up to him, and followed him deep into the dark green hazy woods. We were nearly 50 miles out before I caught the scent of something appealing. A bear in its den, an easy kill. Jake stood back and watched patiently while I did what I needed to do. I stood up, without a single drop of blood on my cream sweater, and saw that he had phased back to his human form.

"I'll never get tired of watching you do that," he said lovingly.

I laughed, "You know, that's kind of weird, Jake. Do you find it so fascinating when I eat human food, too?"

"No, but watching you hunt is fun. You're not thinking about anything else except what is right in front of you. Nothing but books ever gets your undivided attention that way, which is why I also love to watch you read."

"_You_ have my undivided attention," I told him, walking the short distance between us and wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Do I?" he asked, his smile crinkling the corner of his eyes.

"Mmmhum," I mumbled and stretched up on my tiptoes to kiss his chin. He leaned his face down, giving me access to his lips. For the next many, many moments my mind was only on him, reveling in our second real kiss. Though I was tired from my long day, I could have stood in the trees kissing him for hours, days even.

After a while he must have realized my fatigue, because he scooped me and walked a short distance to a small river. Right in the center a large, flat boulder sat, with water flowing quickly around it. He jumped lightly, with me still in his arms, and landed on the rock. He laid me down and then stretched out next to me, one of his hands wrapped around mine and the other dipped into the river, letting the cool water run around it.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"Undoubtedly, why?"

"Well, there's something...something I gave you a long time ago. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to wear it again."

I instantly knew what he was talking about, before he even pulled it from his pocket. The promise bracelet.

"Of course! Yes, I want to wear it again." I gushed.

He smiled, clearly relieved. Did he really expect me to refuse it now? I held out my wrist, the same one with the wolf carving and diamond heart dangling from a silver chain, and let him tie it there.

"Thank you," he said, turning my hand palm up in his and kissing my wrist. "I'd marry you tomorrow, if I didn't think your parents would kill me."

"Why would they kill you? It's obviously going to happen now, I doubt the timing is of too much concern." My stomach did flips at his mention of marriage, and it took me a moment to figure out that they were good flips. I could picture myself marrying Jacob on First Beach, with all our family and friends there.

"You're young, Ness. They want to keep you their little girl for as long as possible." He held his hand up to stop my interruption. "I know, I know...You're grown up, mentally, emotionally, and definitely physically," He grinned. "When the timing feels right, we'll do whatever you want, but right now lets just enjoy being boyfriend and girlfriend for awhile, okay?"

"Okay," I pouted. He laughed and rolled over until my body was trapped underneath his, the warmth and weight felt nice. When he looked down in my eyes, his were burning. I'd never seen him look so fierce. It wasn't a frightening kind of look, but intense in its passion.

"There are a lot of advantages in my being your boyfriend," he breathed into my ear and then kissed it lightly. "We can do this..." He made his was slowly from my ear to my neck with his lips, and then back up. "And we can do this..." He pressed his lips to mine softly, kissing me. I got goosebumps again and the shiver that ran through me caused him to deepen his kiss.

I had been intensely focused on Jake all evening, but at that moment a small thing broke through my mind; I was beyond grateful that I hadn't gone overboard with Owen last week. I couldn't imagine telling Jake. Honestly, I couldn't imagine wanting to be that close to anyone _except_ Jake, even though I knew that I had wanted exactly that only a week ago.

He felt me tense up under him and pulled back, looking questioningly into my eyes. "What's the matter? Did I do something I shouldn't have?" He quickly moved his hand from where it had traveled to my thigh.

"Nothing is wrong at all, the opposite actually," I smiled, reaching to put his hand back where he had taken it from.

"Nessie..." he said warningly.

"Oh calm down, Jake. I know that we've got nothing but time, I'm in no rush. Promise."

"Say that again," he said gently.

"Calm down, Jake?"

"No...keep going."

Then I understood. "We've got nothing but time."

"Nothing but time," he repeated, a smile lighting up his face.

**NOTE:** Thanks so much to everyone who stuck with me all the way through this! It's been so much fun!


	29. Epilogue

**NOTE:** Hey everyone! After I posted the last chapter I decided an Epilogue might be something you all would enjoy! I had bits and pieces of this written for the first chapter of the sequel, but here it is a little early! It's a bit rough, but gets the general idea across, enjoy!

The next several days passed by in a blur of happiness with bits of worry thrown in. I was really too anxious and worried about Owen to work myself up into a respectable period of mourning for him. I felt like I was sitting on the edge waiting for him to decide what to do next, and then I'd be able to react accordingly.

Jake and I had spent every waking moment together, and most sleeping moments too. My parents were being surprisingly cool about letting Jake stay in my room, or I in his- most likely because they could hear everything we did and said- but still, I was appreciative.

I woke up for school early on Monday morning, with his warm arms around me. He wasn't awake yet and was snoring loudly. I smiled and kissed his nose. He didn't stir. From downstairs I could hear some sort of ruckus, too many people talking at once for me to make the words. Suddenly, Aunt Alice's voice cut through the den.

"What is he thinking?!" She screeched.

"Alice, you have to try to get a better picture of what happens after that...we can't take the first course of action." My father said, sounding not quite as upset as Alice, but definitely stressed.

Something was very wrong. I shook Jake awake and dragged him down the stairs, griping at me the whole way.

"What's going on?" I said when we stumbled into the living room. Jake looked instantly awake and on guard when he saw the worried faces of my family.

"Owen is going to Italy," Uncle Emmett said.

"No! He's going to get himself killed!" I shrieked.

"That's actually the least of our worries," Aunt Rose cut in. "Though of course we don't want that," she added when Grandpa Carlisle shot her a disapproving look.

"What are we more worried about?" I asked, sitting on the empty couch, worried that my legs would give out at any second. Jake sat next to me and put his arm protectively around my shoulders.

My father sighed deeply and sat down on my other side, putting his head in his hands. "Alice sees him making it there, every way we go at him he has a plan to get around us. When the Volturi find out that we've let yet another human in on our secret, they won't be pleased. They're always on the lookout for reasons to confront us. This gives them the perfect excuse."

My breathing was coming out in quick gasps by the time he finished. I had put all of us in the greatest danger imaginable, not to mention getting a perfectly wonderful and innocent person killed in the process.

"We don't know that they'll kill him," Dad said in response to my thoughts. "He's going to ask them to change him, and of course Aro will see all of his thoughts and know what has happened here. He might very well give into Owens request, he would be the perfect pawn. There is no denying that we planned on leaving him human, even after all he knew. He's the perfect airtight excuse to come after us."

The gasps turned into sobs as I listened to my father. "We have to stop him, let's _go_!"

"We've already thought of a hundred different ways," Uncle Jasper said. "But Owen knows enough about us to work off of our weaknesses. He's formed a plan, mostly based on the sun...knowing what we can and can't do. I'd say go after him anyway, but the last thing we need is exposure in a public place added to the Volturi's list."

"Grandpa Carlisle," I turned to look at him. "Karen and John respect you. If you call and try and convince them not to let Owen go, I'm sure they would listen!"

"I already called, Nessie. They're hurt that you broke up with him, they loved you too. And they treat Owen as an adult, if he decides to leave for awhile, then they're going to let him. There wasn't much I could say."

Jake spoke quietly then, "I could take him down. It wouldn't be hard, though I'm sure he'd put up a fight...especially against me. But I don't know if I could _not_ kill him."

The thought of that set me hyperventilating. Jacob began rubbing my back in soothing circles, and Aunt Alice came to sit at my feet.

"I saw that Owen will make it to Italy for sure. That is totally concrete, eventually he _will_ get there. If Jake had to chase him all the way to Volterra," Aunt Alice's tiny frame shuddered. "I'd hate to think of what they would do to him, not to mention I wouldn't be able to see....it's too risky."

"There must be a way," I whispered. "Even if we can just hold him off for a little while longer, long enough for him to cool down and see reason."

Aunt Alice shook her head. "I don't see that. He's going to act immediately, and he knows we're going to try to stop him...he'll evade us."

Garrett cleared his throat and spoke, he was leaning against the door frame, a perplexed look on his face. "How can a coven this large have such trouble stopping a _human_."

"He's a human very much in the know," Grandpa Carlisle told him. "He knows everything, and because of Nessie's extra abilities, he knows exactly who and what he's looking for."

"But why try Volterra first?" Kate said. "If she's shown him so much, wouldn't he try to come to us or some friendlier nomads?"

My father shook his head slowly. "He's smart...well as smart as someone who goes and hunts down the Volturi can be." My mother glowered at him, but he continued with a smirk. "He knows that none of our family will change him, and we consider you our family...you would obviously say no. Nomads are too hard to find, and might not have the strength to change him without killing him. The Volturi stay in one place and have the ability to change him easily, if they choose to."

We all sat in silence for a moment, thinking about what this would mean. The Volturi would come to harm my family because of me....again. My father looked up sharply at Tanya.

"That might work, Tanya. Maybe..."

A chorus of '_tell us what you're talking about_' and _'What?_' filled the air and broke the tense silence.

"Tanya was just thinking that Carmen and Eleazar might be able to help. They're already in Spain...and he wouldn't be expecting _them_," he explained.

"I'll call," Tanya said, pulling out a pink phone and dialing a number. "Carmen? We need your help. There is a problem here..."

I sat quietly and listened to her explain the situation to Carmen, the first vampire outside of my family who had accepted and loved me. Would she help me now?

I saw my fathers eyes light up with the first glimmer of hope I'd seen since this grim conversation had started. "They'll do it," he whispered. "Now all we need is a plan."

There was the difficult part. A plan. We had all the necessary elements; Alice to see where he would go, Eleazar and Carmen to stop him once we knew, but why did it seem like that wasn't enough? It wasn't enough because I knew Owen. If any human was capable of evading my family, it was him.

I didn't hear the conversation going on around me. I was numb. The Volturi would come, and we would not win a second time. How long did we have? Not long I was sure, they would not wait around for us to gather anyone to fight with us this time. We would be on our own.

Jake tightened his arms around me and I pressed myself closer to him. I felt a horrible stabbing pain as I thought about the small amount of time we might have left. My perfect ending had just started, and it was crumbling all around me.

**NOTE: The sequel to this story is now up! It's called Nothing But Time, so check it out! **


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